Preview: Parma vs. Roma - prediction, team news, lineups

Despite picking up a series of draws in recent weeks, relegation-haunted Parma welcome top-four contenders Roma to Stadio Ennio Tardini on Sunday having failed to taste success since December.

With the visitors putting together three straight wins in all competitions, they travel north fully expecting to add another maximum points haul to their total.

Match preview

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League wins against mid-table sides Fiorentina and Genoa - the latter thanks to another Gianluca Mancini goal last weekend - were followed by victory in Europe by resurgent Roma, after any lingering hopes of a concerted Scudetto challenge were previously quashed by a first home defeat of the season, to Milan.

Italy international Mancini has now scored, along with Cristiano Ronaldo, the most headed goals - with four - in this Serie A season and no defender has bagged more via headers throughout Europe's top five leagues in 2020-21.

Finding the net for a second successive game, the former Atalanta man was again on target in the Giallorossi's midweek triumph over Shakhtar Donetsk - the final goal of a potentially decisive 3-0 win in the Europa League last-16 tie.

Head coach Paulo Fonseca was rewarded for some squad rotation on Thursday, as a handful of key men sat on the sidelines and fringe players, like the recently returned Stephan El Shaarawy, contributed to the cause.

Those two most recent wins continued a fine set of results on home turf for the capital club, with ten wins and just a solitary defeat coming from their 14 home games so far - behind only champions-elect Inter's league-leading record.

Ahead of their trip to Emilia-Romagna, though, their stats on the road do not stack up nearly as well, but fourth-placed Roma have won eight of their last 10 Serie A encounters with this Sunday's opponents Parma, scoring at least twice in each one of those successes.

Also averaging nigh-on two goals per game so far this term, a meeting with the Crociati's sieve-like defence surely represents an invitation that one of Calcio's most potent attacks simply cannot refuse.

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Though three goals were not enough to topple Fiorentina last week, when 19th-placed Parma came within seconds of a first win in several months, there have been some signs of life for Roberto D'Aversa's side of late.

A dramatic six-goal thriller ended with spoils shared after Simone Iacoponi's unfortunate stoppage-time own goal, as two fallen members of Serie A's 'Seven Sisters' in the 1990s battled it out for survival.

The Emilians, however, have surely turned a corner in terms of goalscoring after a humbling season in the final third, having now posted eight goals in their last four outings.

The previously shot-shy side may remain winless in a club record 17 matches but have at least troubled the scorers in the last few rounds, while showing some spirit in the process. Now recovering several of their better players from injury, to supplement a bloated but underperforming squad, they face the prospect of a momentum-halting fixture versus one of the top flight's most prolific teams.

Historically, Parma have lost more games against Roma than against any other side in Serie A and they are also the team against which the Gialloblu have conceded the most goals in their time at the elite level.

They will somehow have to overturn such forbidding precedent without in-form top scorer Juraj Kucka, who has featured as a 'false nine' of late, given the alarming run of injuries D'Aversa has faced up front.

Certainly, Parma cannot hope to rely on keeping things tight at the other end, having conceded 52 goals so far - second only to hapless Crotone in the dubious contest for worst defence of the season.

Team News

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Roma face making the journey to Parma in the absence of both Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who came off injured in the first half against his former club Shakhtar, and Chris Smalling, whose latest injury concern of a heavily disrupted campaign comes in the form of a thigh problem sustained in training.

Reserve defender Juan Jesus tested positive for COVID-19 during the week, so must self-isolate, while top-scoring set-piece specialist Jordan Veretout is still sidelined with a thigh strain.

However, Roger Ibanez and Edin Dzeko both returned to the bench on Thursday and could feature at the Tardini, with the young Brazilian defender coming in for Marash Kumbulla in the back three and the former captain going head-to-head with Borja Mayoral to fill the visitors' centre-forward role.

Though their significant injury list is now slowly beginning to shorten, Parma will sorely miss top scorer and main creative hub Juraj Kucka, who - like his manager Roberto D'Aversa - must serve a suspension. The Slovakian playmaker's absence will most probably be covered by Alberto Grassi.

On-loan striker Joshua Zirkzee (back) and Milan loanee Andrea Conti (thigh) re-joined full training during the week and could feature, though both Mattia Bani and Hernani are doubts due to adductor issues.

Misfiring centre-forwards Andreas Cornelius (thigh) and Roberto Inglese (ankle) are also causes for concern, while Simone Iacoponi is suffering from a minor knee problem.

Nonetheless, both Gervinho and Yann Karamoh started in Florence and could join forces once again in the home side's attack, with veteran target man Graziano Pelle another option up front.

Parma possible starting lineup:
Sepe; Conti, Osorio, Gagliolo, Pezzella; Grassi, Brugman, Kurtic; Man, Pelle, Mihaila

Roma possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Mancini, Cristante, Ibanez; Peres, Diawara, Villar, Spinazzola; El Shaarawy, Pellegrini; Dzeko

We say: Parma 1-2 Roma

The prospects of finally earning a desperately-needed first win of the year are apparently slim for Parma this Sunday, as Roma are clicking back into gear and have effectively sewn-up progress in Europe - thereby avoiding distraction ahead of their second leg with Shakhtar next week.

With the recently returned-to-the-fold pair of Stephan El Shaarawy and Edin Dzeko potentially both playing a prominent role, Parma's brittle back four have little hope of holding out for 90 minutes against one of Serie A's most deadly offensive units.