Perugia vs AS Roma 01/08/19

1 August 2019

Perugia will kick off their pre-season at the Stadio Renato Curi as they take on the Serie A heavyweights AS Roma for their opening summer friendly.

The hosts finished eighth in Serie B last season but have then failed to secure the Serie A promotion after suffering a 4-1 defeat to Verona in the playoffs. One of the reasons the Griffins have struggled to battle their way back to the Italian top tier is their run of dreadful form in the final stage of last season. They have secured just one triumph in the final eight SB fixtures last term (W1, D3, L4), with five of those games featuring under 2.5 goals. What’s more, Perugia’s unprolific attack has scored one goal or less seven times across the same period, failing to find the net in the first 45 minutes six times in the process.

Meanwhile, the visitors have managed back-to-back triumphs in their opening summer friendlies against the Italian lower-league sides Rieti and Ternana, netting ten goals while allowing one along the way. Roma’s strong start to their pre-season has coincided with their run of good form from the final stage of last season that has seen them rack up a nine-game unbeaten Serie A run (W5, D4). Still, six of those matches have featured under 2.5 goals with just four of them seeing both teams score. Impressive at the back, the Giallorossi have kept a clean sheet on five occasions across the same period, restricting their rivals to a maximum of one goal per match in three of the remaining four games.