Roma Face Defining Test Against Juventus at the Olimpico

If you had told any Roma supporter at the start of the season that the Giallorossi would be heading into a late-February home match against Juventus sitting four points clear of them in the table, most would’ve laughed you out of the Olimpico. Still, here we are, in that exact position. Thanks to a recent Juventus tailspin that has seen them drop points in four of their last six matches, Roma have leapfrogged their northern rivals in the standings and now hold that four-point lead heading into Sunday’s six-pointer.

After Roma’s 3-0 win over Cremonese last weekend tied them with Napoli in third place through 26 match days, the Giallorossi have been handed a golden opportunity. Win tomorrow at the Olimpico, and it might just end Juventus as a significant threat to Roma’s Champions League ambitions. Draw or lose? Well, then we’re going to have to table-watch for quite some time.

This won’t be easy; Roma knows how to make Roma happen, and a Juve side fighting for its season will come to the Olimpico with nothing to lose. With that in mind, here are the two storylines that will likely determine the outcome.

What to Watch For

Can Pisilli Stand Up to the Giants?

Niccolo Pisilli has been one of the most significant success stories of Roma’s season under Gian Piero Gasperini. After having limited appearances in the first half of the season, 2026 has seen the Roman do the kind of unglamorous, high-effort work in the press and transition that Gasperini demands from his midfielders. Against Cremonese last week, Pisilli came on as a substitute for Lorenzo Pellegrini and finished Roma’s third goal on the first touch after a scramble in the box fell his way. He was clinical, immediate, and scored with no hesitation whatsoever. It was a sub’s goal in the literal sense, but what made it notable was the composure: no extra touch, no second-guessing, just a clean finish that sealed the win and the clean sheet in one moment.

The question now is what Gasperini does with that going forward. Roma’s central midfield has become an increasingly competitive room. Bryan Cristante had one of his better matches of the season against Cremonese, scoring and assisting to remind everyone of the qualities that made him a Gasperini favorite during their time at Atalanta together. Lorenzo Pellegrini, for his part, has been improving his form in a deeper role when he plays. And Manu Koné remains the engine room of the system on his best days. None of those players are going anywhere, at least not this week.

However, if Pisilli gets minutes against Juventus and seizes them the way he did against Cremonese by pressing without rest, arriving late into dangerous areas, and finishing when the moment demands, it would force the conversation in a way that a goal against a relegation-threatened side hasn’t quite managed yet. A man of the match level performance wouldn’t necessarily move Cristante or Pellegrini out of the lineup overnight, and it certainly wouldn’t make Koné suddenly expendable (for a price) on its own. Still, it would start to make Gasperini’s already difficult decisions even harder. For a 21-year-old who is still proving himself at the top-flight level, and who is trying to squeeze his way into the national team conversation, that kind of pressure on the manager is exactly the position you want to be in.

Will Malen Continue His Hot Start in Rome?

If Roma qualify for the Champions League this season (and that’s still an if!), it will be through the strength of their league-best defense. That defense has showcased the structural discipline that Gasperini has made his calling card throughout his career, even though much of the credit should trace back to what Claudio Ranieri built in the backline last spring. Players like Mile Svilar, Gianluca Mancini, Mario Hermoso, and Evan Ndicka have been the bedrock of Roma’s season, and the rise of Daniele Ghilardi in 2026 has transformed a world-beating starting defense into one that can rotate without losing a step. All of that is true and worth acknowledging, especially given how historically, the Giallorossi have often been a “score first, defend later” kind of club.

Still, if Roma finish in the top four, Donyell Malen will be the reason they could translate that defensive prowess into wins. The first half of this season showed just how lacking Roma’s forward contingent was when it came to the traits Gasperini requires from his forwards — pace, aggression, and quick thinking. Even though there have been some draws and losses here and there, there’s no doubt that since Malen arrived in Rome, the club has had true energy up front in a way that calls to mind the peak of the Edin Džeko and Tammy Abraham Eras. His assault on Serie A continued against Napoli in the Derby del Sole, where he scored a brace in a 2-2 away draw.

That result, given the circumstances, felt to me as much like a confidence boost as a dropped point. Prior to that match, Roma had faltered and lost their big matches for much of the season, so the fact that they went to Naples, fell behind, and fought back twice, with Malen at the center of it all, definitely matters. Against Cremonese, Malen was again a constant threat despite not scoring, drawing multiple blocks and serving as the primary creative outlet before one of his passes set Pisilli up for the afternoon’s final goal. The connection between the two is something worth watching tomorrow.

Juventus is obviously a much better side than Cremonese, but they are also a Juve side that has been leaking goals and confidence in equal measure. They have been their own worst enemy in recent weeks, gifting opponents goals and conceding field position through a combination of individual errors and collective fatigue. That collective fatigue has likely only grown after almost clawing their way back into the Champions League knockout rounds in a hard-fought midweek match against Galatasaray.

With that in mind, a forward who thrives in transition and punishing teams that surrender space can pounce and create an inviting matchup. If Malen can put in another performance that matches or exceeds what he did in Naples, it will transform Roma into a true giant of this season, not just a side that can beat up the small teams and lose to the big ones. That’s critical both for results and the club’s confidence moving forward, both in Serie A and the Europa League.