Juventus have sprung back to life and find themselves in the thick of things in terms of the Serie A title race. Now they face a big match against Roma, who have gotten off to a poor start in 2016. 

The last time these two teams met it was a 2-1 win for Roma in August. But the situation of both teams have changed drastically since then. 

Form 

After a very rough start to the season, Juventus have picked themselves up and are thriving. This week was no different as they beat Udinese 4-0 last week and advanced in the Coppa Italia as they beat Lazio 1-0 midweek. Juventus have won 10 games in a row and after the win over Udinese, they are now second in Serie A as they now sit two points behind Napoli in the tight race of Serie A. But they also only sit two points ahead of Inter Milan and four ahead of Fiorentina so they have to watch their backs.

But it's no secret that Juve are in form and are in prime position to win the Serie A title again. But things are beginning to pick up for Juve as they face Inter  in the Coppa Italia semis and face Bayern Munich in the Champions League Round of 16 in a couple of weeks. With the likes of Paul Pogba and Pablo Dybala in fantastic form, the Old Lady is looking stronger and stronger each game. Could this be the spark of another magical run in Serie A and the Champions League for Massimiliano Allegri's team?

Photo: Getty Images Sport/Giuseppe Bellini
Photo: Getty Images Sport/Giuseppe Bellini

While it has been a start to the year to remember so far for Juventus, it has been a start to the year to forget for Roma. Three straight draws against the likes of Chievo, AC Milan, and Verona is not the way Roma would have liked to start the year. Because of this, they now find themselves out of the top four in the table and they now sit 5th and are three points beind 4th place Fiorentina.

They haven't won a Serie A game since December 20th and they need three points to help steer the ship. After this game, Roma face some easier games on the schedule as they look for their first win of 2016 but they all of their focus should be on this game. Given the way the Juventus's attack has been playing, Roma's defense will be tested no doubt. 

Team News

Juventus will be without the likes of Andrea Barzagli, Mario Lemina, Rubinho and Roberto Pereyra in this fixture. 

Roma will be without Ezequiel Ponce, Salih Ucan, Seydou Keita, Maicon, and Gervinho

What They're Saying

"It's an important game for us and a difficult one at that." said Allegri when asked about this fixture (via Juventus's Twitter account)

While this may be a tough game for Juventus, they are the favorites in this fixture. 

"There's a long way to go and we're not out of anything yet." said Roma winger Mohamed Salah to La Stampa when asked about Roma's place in the Serie A table (via Goal.com). 

Prediction 

Juventus are on a tear and Roma are on a slide. This should be three points for Juventus as they avenge the loss they suffered in August. 

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About the author
Vijay Vemu
Vijay is a sports journalist who covers mainly the NBA and soccer. He is a credential reporter on the Chicago Fire and also covers NBA for VAVEL as well. He is also a editor for Mash Chicago, the publication of the Chicago Tribune. He is also a contributor at SB Nation's Blog A Bull and Big East Coast Bias as well as writing on European Soccer as well. He plans on attending the University of Illnois at Chicago (UIC) in the fall with a major in computer science. You can follow him on Twitter : @VJVemu