OUR man in Rome Marco Di Cosmo (@scioltz) has very strong feelings on this weekend’s Serie A clash between Roma and Parma. Let him explain.
Roma v Parma | Sunday 14:00 | ESPN
Parma’s loss at home to Chievo on Wednesday night was as bad as it gets and they’ve clearly resigned themselves to playing in Serie B next season. With just nine points picked up this season, they look doomed.
Their poor season has been primarily due to political problems. Antonio Cassano left the club some weeks ago complaining about players not receiving their wages and the president has sold an incredible number of players in the transfer window.
Parma will probably be considered bankrupt soon and the club will be sold without a transfer fee in the following weeks. That’s really sad when you think of the stature this club has in Italian and European football.
It’s pretty much like Aston Villa being relegated from the EPL. While Parma have never won a championship, they do have two UEFA Cups in their trophy cabinet.
The likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Lilian Thuram, Fabio Cannavaro, Juan Sebastian Veron, Faustino Asprilla, Hernan Crespo and Gianfranco Zola have played at Parma, but nowadays they struggle to name 11 competitive players on the pitch. It’s a sad situation.
As long as they’re in this mess they have to be opposed on the betting front. The odds for Roma to beat them on Sunday look generous.
It’s true that Roma have lost many games against struggling teams in the past and that’s cost them a lot of trophies, but I think the Giallorossi are a different animal under Rudi Garcia.
Garcia has given them a winning mentality and they’ll take this game very seriously. After the vital win in Cagliari on Sunday, Roma remain in touch of leaders Juventus and all roads lead to their clash in March at the Stadio Olimpico.
Parma will be the easiest match they’ll have until the end of the season and I expect Garcia’s side to win easily. I’ll back Roma -1 at Evens with Paddy Power. I don’t expect it to be that price come Sunday afternoon!
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Roma v Parma – Roma -1 (Evens Paddy Power)
