Roma’s Serie A crisis deepened as they lost 2-0 away to Bologna at the weekend, and while a quick turnaround against on Wednesday might look desirable, it could be another potential banana skin for Eusebio di Francesco’s side.
They will face second-from-bottom Frosinone, who battled bravely against a Juventus side seeking an eighth consecutive league title, holding out until Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 81st minute on the way to a 2-0 win.
The victory was the fifth in five games for Juventus, who top the table.
Roma, who have just a single victory and five points from their opening five games so far this season, were expected to make short work of a Bologna side that had not scored at all coming into Sunday’s clash.
Instead they capitulated, leading Di Francesco to order his team back to their Trigoria training ground ahead of Wednesday’s game as they seek a quick solution to their woes.
“Unfortunately, the answers that I did not get will lead me to make changes. We will see with a cool head. This team gives the feeling of having little defensive solidity,” a rueful Di Francesco said following the defeat.
With a crucial derby against Lazio coming up on Saturday, the 49-year-old will be under pressure to come up with a plan to solve the defensive shakiness and the wastefulness in front of goal that has left his side in 14th place in the table.
Powered by two goals from enigmatic forward Lorenzo Insigne, Napoli’s impressive 3-0 victory over Torino moved them up to second in the table, with coach Carlo Ancelotti winning plaudits for how his side has performed so far.
Roma’s fellow early-season strugglers AC Milan looked like taking their second victory of the season, but a late goal by Emiliano Rigoni gave visitors Atalanta a share of the points in a 2-2 draw.