Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan. (Photo : Getty Images)
Last season's third-place finishers AS Roma (2-1-1, 7 points) is set to square off with current cellar-dwellers FC Crotone (0-3-1, 1 point) at the Stadio Olimpico this Wednesday, Sep. 21 as the 2016-2017 Serie A season carries on.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 2:45 p.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru FuboTV.
Roma had been undefeated in the first three weeks of Italian top flight competitions until they were turned back by middling team ACF Fiorentina, 0-1, on the road at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in their week 4 game last Sunday, via SB Nation.
Viola's Croatian midfielder Milan Badelj netted the lone goal of the match at the 82nd minute for the hosts. The game looked headed to a goalless draw with both squads refusing to give each other any foothold.
The loss was the first of the season for head coach Luciano Spalletti's crew as they whitewashed Udinese in their season-opener via a 4-0 count, settled for a 2-2 draw with Cagliari in their second game, before nipping Sampdoria, 3-2, in their third match.
Meanwhile, newly-promoted club FC Crotone is still winless after four games in the Serie A. They did manage to put to stop a three-game losing slide, though, as the team was able to hold Palermo to a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Adriatico last Sunday, as per Football Italia.
Head coach Davide Nicola's side broke the deadlock at the 23rd minute with a close range left-footer from Italian striker Marcello Trotta from an assist by forward Diego Falcinelli, keeping a one-point lead at the halftime break.
The equalizer was eventually found by Macedonian forward Ilija Nestorovski at the 66th minute as he directed a Haitam Aleesami cross towards the back of Crotone goalkeeper Alex Cordaz's net.
The stalemate gave Pitagorici their first point in the Italian top flight although they remained as one of only two teams, alongside Palermo, who are still without a win in this term.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a tough 2-1 decision for Roma.
Roma starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Szczesny; Florenzi, Manolas, Fazio, Peres; Nainggolan, De Rossi, Strootman; Salah, Dzeko, Perotti
Crotone starting lineup (3-4-3 formation): Cordaz; Ceccherini, Clayton, Ferrari; Rohden, Capezzi, Crisetig, Martella; Trotta, Falcinelli, Palladino
