27 February 2015
On the way to their highest Serie A finish since the 2009/10 campaign, second-placed Roma enjoyed a somewhat imperious record at the Stadio Olimpico last season, registering 15 victories, three draws and a solitary loss.
But despite their 85-point haul, the Giallorossi, revitalised by the appointment of new manager Rudi Garcia, were up against a Juventus side who marched on to their third successive Scudetto title thanks in most part to a perfect home record in Turin.
Determined to match the reigning champions pound for pound this time around, Roma triumphed in each of their first seven games of the term, keeping clean sheets during six of those encounters.
Fiorentina, Cagliari and Verona were all dispatched by 2-0 scorelines early on, with Alessandro Florenzi and the now-departed Mattia Destro bagging two strikes apiece in the latter fixtures.
Destro continued his purple patch in front of goal as he struck in both of October’s triumphs over Chievo (3-0) and Cesena (2-0), before the Bianconeri’s Derby Della Mole rivals Torino were on the receiving end of a 3-0 defeat at the start of November.
Goals courtesy of Gervinho, Jose Holebas and a brace from Miralem Pjanic saw the Giallorossi then claim a 4-2 success over Inter in spite of the Nerazzurri becoming the first opposition outfit to score at the Stadio Olimpico this season.
However, that’s where the victories at home stopped, with Roma going on to drop points in all five of their following matches in Italy’s capital.
First Simone Zaza inspired Sassuolo to a 2-2 draw at the beginning of December before Filippo Inzaghi's 10-man Milan registered a goalless stalemate ahead of the winter break.
In the maiden home encounter of 2015, two goals from captain Francesco Totti were not enough for all three points in the Derby Della Capitale, as Lazio held their rivals 2-2.
Regardless of their winless run continuing following further stalemates against Empoli (1-1) and Parma (0-0), the Giallorossi were able to stretch their unbeaten streak on home soil to 13 matches at the midway point of February.
Incidentally, the Old Lady were the last side to leave Italy’s capital victorious: former forward Dani Osvaldo striking during a 1-0 win for the newly-crowned champions back in May 2014.
Of the 161 Serie A meetings contested between the two teams, the Giallorossi have only triumphed on 37 occasions up against the Bianconeri – with 29 of these victories having come at home.
If Roma want to close the gap on the league leaders to six points and record a 30th triumph over the Bianconeri in front of their home faithful, they’re in need of a polished big-game performance on Monday evening.
