Preview: Roma vs Como - prediction, team news, lineups

Two teams looking to gatecrash Serie A's top four will meet at Stadio Olimpico on Monday, as Roma welcome Como to the Italian capital.

Both clubs are vying with the traditional elite for Champions League qualification, with the Giallorossi just three points ahead of their visitors.

Match preview

After topping the table in late November, Roma have since lost their last two league matches without scoring, as an acute striker crisis starts to take its toll.

Having been beaten 1-0 at home by reigning champions Napoli, the Giallorossi surprisingly lost by the same scoreline in Cagliari last week, with Zeki Celik's second-half dismissal proving costly.

Their hosts finally ended a long winless streak by finding a late winner in Sardinia, as Roma slipped further away from the Serie A summit.

Of all clubs inside the top half, Gian Piero Gasperini's side have scored the fewest goals (15); before Como arrive at the Olimpico, only seven have arrived on home turf.

While misfiring strikers Artem Dovbyk, Paulo Dybala and Evan Ferguson have been plagued by injuries and poor form, their defensive colleagues continue to keep Roma's top-four challenge on track.

With only eight goals conceded, they have the tightest back line in Italy's top tier, and that tally represents Roma's best record at this stage for 12 years.

The capital club kept another clean sheet on Thursday night, when they swept Celtic aside in Glasgow: Ferguson found his shooting boots to strike twice in the first half of a 3-0 success.

Having moved closer to the Europa League's knockout stage - they now sit just one point below the automatic qualifying places - Gasperini's team must now host domestic rivals who are also eyeing a top-four finish.

While Como have won just one of 13 top-flight away games against Roma - a 1-0 victory back in April 1950 - the only meeting in recent memory was last term's 2-1 defeat.

Having returned to Serie A last year, the big-spending Lariani are enjoying their best-ever start, collecting 24 points from the first 14 fixtures.

Sitting above the likes of Lazio and Juventus - and undefeated since August - they headed to San Siro last week, ready to test their credentials against Scudetto contenders Inter Milan.

However, with a ruthless display, Inter snapped Como's 11-match unbeaten streak by racing to a 4-0 victory, marking the first time the visitors had conceded more than once in any game this season.

That result leaves them three points behind Roma in a congested race for European qualification, and their highly-rated head coach will now pit his wits against the Giallorossi's managerial master.

Under Cesc Fabregas, Como average over 60% possession in Serie A - and they tried to go toe-to-toe with Inter - so it will be fascinating to see how they fare against Gasperini's well-drilled team.

Roma Serie A form:

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Roma form (all competitions):

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Como Serie A form:

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Team News

Roma made five changes at Celtic Park, but regular starters such as Manu Kone and Bryan Cristante should return on Monday, when Gasperini could be without two AFCON-bound players.

Evan Ndicka and Neil El Aynaoui are set to represent Ivory Coast and Morocco respectively, so they will need special dispensation to feature in one more match before leaving.

One man definitely unavailable is Celik, who must serve a suspension, so either Wesley or Devyne Rensch should start on the right flank of Gasperini's favoured 3-4-2-1 formation.

With Dovbyk still sidelined, either Brighton loanee Ferguson or false nine Dybala will feature up front. Hampered by fitness issues, the latter has only scored one goal in 14 league appearances this season - his worst start to a Serie A campaign.

Emerging from the next generation of Argentine stars, Matias Soule is the Giallorossi's four-goal top scorer, while Como's Nico Paz has struck five times and laid on five assists.

Heading into this matchday, Paz had also taken the most shots at goal in Serie A (51), and the visitors' main man will support Tasos Douvikas in attack; Alvaro Morata has been sidelined by a thigh injury.

Sergi Roberto and Edoardo Goldaniga are also ruled out, while midfielder Maximo Perrone must serve a one-match ban.

Roma possible starting lineup:

Svilar; Mancini, Ndicka, Hermoso; Wesley, Kone, Cristante, Tsimikas; Soule, Pellegrini; Dybala

Como possible starting lineup:

Butez; Smolcic, Ramon, Carlos, Valle; Da Cunha, Caqueret; Addai, Paz, Rodriguez; Douvikas

We say: Roma 1-0 Como

Caught cold in Milan last week, Como have earned just nine points from 21 available on the road, and they may leave Rome empty-handed too.

Curiously, Roma have drawn none of their last 20 Serie A matches - and none in this season's Europa League either - so that trend will continue with a gritty single-goal win.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.