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What: Serie A, Round 10
Who: Juventus - Roma
When: Saturday November 1, 2008, 20:45CET
Where: Stadio Olimpico Grande, Turin, Italy

Juventus welcome a wounded Roma side to the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday night but the big talking point is that Francesco Totti will not take part in the showdown as an on going knee problem has forced him to stay in the Italian capital...

Onwards And Upwards For The Old Lady

Three back-to-back wins has seen La Vecchia Signora refind her feet in Serie A as she gets back up to speed. The wins against Torino and Bologna have seen the team close the gap between them and league leaders Napoli to just five points, three behind bitter rivals Inter.

The Bianconeri relied on another old hero against the Emiliani in midweek as Pavel Nedved fired his side to a 2-1 win. The veteran bagged a brace as he rolled back the years, prompting a reaction from the club who want to offer him an extension. Roma will need to be well aware of Juve as they have only lost once at home this season, drawing one and winning the other two. The Turin-based side are the favourites for this one and it's not hard to see why as the Lupi are yet to pick up points on the road this term, losing all of their four away games thus far.

Juventus will also be confident knowing that they haven't lost at home to Roma since the 2000/01 season when Gabriel Batistuta was the hero at the Stadio Delle Alpi in a 2-0 win for the boys from the capital. Juventus won this fixture 1-0 last year courtesy of a sublime free kick from Alessandro Del Piero. Pinturrichio is all fired up after being rested by Claudio Ranieri against Bologna and he will be hoping to get his name on the score sheet this term as he returns to partner Amauri up front.

Ranieri has also hinted that Mauro Camoranesi may get the nod from the kick off after the Argetine made a full recovery from injury. It's onwards and upwards for the Old Lady and a win here will see them within touching distance of the usual suspects.

Wounded Lupi Attempt To Heal

It's not looking good for I Lupi. The 3-1 loss to Udinese saw the club hit a new low in the Serie A standings. Perhaps, the postponement of the midweek game against Sampdoria was a blessing in disguise as it allowed the team to rest, recover and work out a plan to try and ge back on track against an in-form Bianconeri side.

The Giallorossi need all the help they can get at the moment but they have been hit by another major blow as club captain, talisman and all round hero Francesco Totti will miss the game. Er Pupone has not travelled to Turin after his knee forced him to stay behind. Luciano Spalletti will have to tinker and try to find a solution to his side's drought in front of goal. Nine goals scored and a very poor 15 shipped. Only Reggina, who are bottom of the league, have a worse defensive record. The Calabrians have conceded one more than I Lupi, such is the abject form at Trigoria. 

It's now or never for Roma. Anything less than a win will see their Scudetto hopes dashed. Even the most die-hard of fans still believes in the cause but it's looking increasingly difficult, especially with all the turbulent air which is surrounding the club.

Their poor record in Turin will also pile even more pressure. The team is on the brink of the relegation zone and any team who has been involved in a scrap at the foot of the table knows only too well of the consequences. Crisis? The B word will begin to loom if things don't chance against Juventus.