Roma make quite a few changes for their trip to Palermo, as Stephan El Shaarawy is the centre-forward and Clement Grenier starts, but must win to recapture second place.
It kicks off at the Stadio Barbera at 19.45 GMT, follow the build-up and action on the Liveblog.
Luciano Spalletti confessed his team has “one tyre stuck in the mud and I am at the wheel” after three consecutive defeats in all competition.
Roma make quite a few changes for their trip to Palermo, as Stephan El Shaarawy is the centre-forward and Clement Grenier starts, but must win to recapture second place.
It kicks off at the Stadio Barbera at 19.45 GMT, follow the build-up and action on the Liveblog.
Luciano Spalletti confessed his team has “one tyre stuck in the mud and I am at the wheel” after three consecutive defeats in all competition.
They lost the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final 2-0, then 4-2 in the Europa League with Olympique Lyonnais.
Earlier this afternoon, Napoli beat Crotone 3-0, so only a victory here will ensure Roma recapture second place alone.
The Giallorossi were visibly fatigued on Thursday night and therefore make changes, as Edin Dzeko, Daniele De Rossi and Emerson Palmieri are rested.
Kostas Manolas is suspended and Diego Perotti injured, but there’s no rest for Federico Fazio.
El Shaarawy is the only real option as a False 9, supported by Radja Nainggolan and Mohamed Salah.
It’s worth keeping an eye on the Egyptian international, as he has three goals in his last two meetings with Palermo.
Kevin Strootman is also rested in favour of January signing Grenier, who gets his first Serie A start.
Palermo are third-from-bottom and need points to have any hopes of avoiding relegation this season.
It’s not completely out of the question, especially as Empoli and Genoa lost this weekend, and they make their debut under new President Paul Baccaglini.
There are some important absentees, as Andrea Rispoli and Norbert Balogh are suspended, while Slobodan Rajkovic, Stefan Silva and Giuseppe Pezzella are injured.
Ilija Nestorovski is comfortably the top scorer in the Sicilian squad on 10 goals and leads the way on his birthday with Bruno Henrique, Carlos Embalo and Roland Sallai.
The big shock is that Josip Posavec is dropped, so 22-year-old Andrea Fulignati goes in goal for his Serie A debut.
Roma are unbeaten at the Stadio Barbera since a 2-0 result in March 2013, emerging with a 1-1 draw and 4-2 success.
The last seven meetings between these sides, home and away, have provided a total 28 goals.
Palermo: Fulignati; Morganella, Cionek, Andelkovic, Aleesami; Chochev, Gazzi; Sallai, Bruno Henrique, Embalo; Nestorovski
Palermo bench: Posavec, Marson, Vitiello, Trajkovski, Gonzalez, Diamanti, Jajalo, Sunjic, Bonfiglio, Ruggiero, Lo Faso
Roma: Szczesny; Rudiger, Fazio, Juan Jesus; Peres, Paredes, Grenier, Mario Rui; Salah, Nainggolan; El Shaarawy
Roma bench: Alisson, Crisanto, Strootman, Dzeko, Totti, Vermaelen, De Rossi, Gerson, Emerson Palmieri