VENEZIA

League position: 16th
Head coach: Paolo Zanetti
Serie A top-scorer: Mattia Aramu (3)

RECENT FORM

Venezia: D W L L D
Roma: L D W L D

With just two wins from their 11 Serie A outings so far this season, Venezia are hovering a point above the relegation zone and could drop into the bottom three with defeat to the Giallorossi on Sunday.

A 0-0 draw at fellow strugglers Genoa last time out did at least bring a welcome second clean sheet of the campaign and Zanetti will be hoping his side can build on that when Roma come to town.

As for the visitors, they return to Serie A duty on the back of a frustrating 2-2 draw with Bodo/Glimt in the Europa Conference League and Jose Mourinho will be doing his utmost to return his team to their superb early season form.

Roma won on their last Serie A away day, coming from behind to beat Cagliari by two goals to one, and a second successive league victory on their travels would keep the Giallorossi in fourth place.

Possible Venezia line-up

(4-3-3)

Romero; Mazzocchi, Caldara, Ceccaroni, Haps; Tessmann, Busio, Crnigoj; Aramu, Henry, Okereke

LAST MEETING

DANGER MAN
Mattia Aramu

The 26-year-old winger is not only his side’s top-scorer with three league goals this term, but he has also had a hand in some important strikes for his team.

It was Aramu that teed up fellow schemer Thomas Henry for the opener in their first win of the season - a 2-1 victory at Empoli - and he has also found the net with a late equaliser that secured a 1-1 draw with Torino on Matchday 6, while he scored the only goal of the game in Venezia’s victory over Fiorentina two games later.

Aramu and Henry have been their team’s most threatening players in attack, with the former operating from the right, the latter through the middle and David Okereke on the left.

The trio are responsible for six of Venezia’s eight Serie A goals, showing just how important they are to their team.

MATCH STATS

Venezia have not beaten Roma in the top-flight since February 1999, and that is their only victory in the last 12 Serie A meetings between these two.

In that time, Roma have won eight and the sides have shared three draws, while their last Serie A meeting at the Penzo was the 2-2 draw back in April 2002.

After their win against Cagliari, Roma could win back-to-back Serie A away matches for the first time since August 2020 when they won four on the spin.

The Giallorossi have attempted the most shots in Serie A this season (195), whilst Venezia have had the fewest (95) and the hosts also boast the lowest Expected Goals total (10.0).

PLAYER STATS

• Amedeo Amadei is this fixture’s top-scorer with nine goals, while Marco Delvecchio sits second on six.
  
• Vincenzo Montella scored both Roma goals the last time these two met in 2002, rescuing a 2-2 draw for his side courtesy of penalties in the 87th and 90th minute of the game.
  
• Mattia Caldara scored his first Serie A home goal against Roma for Atalanta in November 2016.

WHAT THEY SAID

"It was a complicated game, I felt so many emotions, because it's normal when you make your debut in Serie A, it was an incredible emotion.”

- Venezia assistant coach, Alberto Bertolini, after he made his debut in the dugout with Zanetti in the stands for the 0-0 draw with Genoa