Finishing second in the Serie A for the second straight year, AS Roma will be looking to be on par with rivals and champions Juventus to win the league and bring the title back to the Eternal City.

Last Season

Roma enter the 2015/16 season with the aim of nothing else but to finish as Serie A champions. The Roman side finished second in champions in 2013/14, 17 points behind Juve and was able to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2010.

The fans were all thinking they would get something in terms of silverware with their new signings last summer and playing European football. Sadly, they were drawn in the Group of Death alongside Manchester City, Bayern Munich and CSKA Moscow to finish third and get demoted to the Europa League.

Even there, they bowed out of the Coppa Italia in the quarterfinals and in the Round of 16 in Europa losing to Fiorentina in both.

A return to European football became a struggle. Source:UEFA

Transfers In's and Out's

In (5) - Alessio Romagnoli from Sampdoria (Loan return for free), Daniel De Silva from Perth Glory (€2M), Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal), Mohamed Salah (Chelsea), Edin Dzeko (Manchester City)

Out (6) - Andrea Bertolacci to Milan, Federico Viviani to Hellas Verona, Lorenzo Pellegrini to Sassuolo, José Holebas to Watford, Simone Sini to Virtus Entella and Tallo Gadji to Lille

While not many changes have been made going out instead of in, Greek player Holebas is the standout having played some games for Roma during the course of last season.

Notable In's include Szczesny from Arsenal, who looks to be the starting goalkeeper with the soon to be retirement of Morgan De Sanctis and the transfers of Salah and Dzeko bring depth to the front line.

Manager

This will be Rudi Garcia's third season for the side and have achieved second place during his tenure and will once again look to challenge for the Scudetto.

First Six

1. Verona (Away)
2. Juventus (Home)
3. Frosinone (Away)
4. Sassuolo (Home)
5. Sampdoria (Away)
6. Carpi (Home)

Not the worst of starts for the club, however the first home match against champions Juventus will surely be the hardest without a doubt. A point there would probably see them top of the league all depending on the other five matches the Scuedtto champions will play.

Another tricky one is the 4th and 5th match against Sassuolo, who is leaded by Domencio Berardi, a player that scored 15 goals last season, more than any Roma player was able to do. A win there and against Sampdoria who are fresh off their Europa League elimination would prove huge, but also get the points against the two recently promoted sides of Frosinone and Carpi.

Derby days

The Derby della Capitale will be as fiery as ever with both teams currently in the UEFA Champions League.

Roma finished a mear point above their hated rivals Lazio, with both derbies at the Stadio Olimpico ending in a 2-2 draw and 2-1 win for Roma.

They will have their first one on the 8th of November in matchday 12 and their second one on matchday 31 on the 3rd of April.

Predicted Most Important player

The Argentine Paraguayan will look for another breakthrough season. Source:ForzaItalianFootball

Juan Iturbe- Many people thought that he would be this player last season because of his big move from an amazing 2013-14 season at Hellas Verona where he scored eight goals. However, injuries saw him miss some matches and wasn't able to play an entire season.

Needless to say, he's a player with a diminutive stature at 5'7'' who is quick on the ball as a winger and is able to score goals whenever possible.

He also scored against Juventus and a vital goal in the Derby della Capitale which helped Roma to stay in 2nd and gave Roma a direct pass to the Champions League.

Predicted ( All competitions )

Serie A - 2nd - They've shown time and time again that even when strengthening this squad that they can pull something of a miracle to knock Juventus off their guard. However, it's true to say that with the Milan clubs strengthening as well as the Old Lady, it will be tough to have enough firepower to compete with these clubs, except the Milan sides. Juventus will end up winning their 5th straight come May of next year.

Coppa Italia - Semifinals - Losing in the quarterfinals was a disappointing sight for the Roma fans. However, they know that they will compete for 3 titles, but Europe and Serie A seems to be something that will come tough for them, which is why they must focus on this cup.

A semifinal run would be ideal, but it wouldn't be surprising if they make the final or even win it.

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About the author
Roberto Rojas
Writing about the beautiful game. Cohost of the @LowLimitFutbol Podcast.