Roma will be out to maintain their winning run and tighten their grip on fifth place in Serie A when they welcome Hellas Verona to the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday evening.

The Giallorossi have won back-to-back matches are are two points better than Napoli in sixth, while Hellas have gone three games without a victory and are down in ninth.

Match preview

A run of three successive defeats, against AC Milan, Udinese and Napoli, ended Roma's hopes of usurping one of Lazio, Atalanta or Inter Milan for a place in the top four.

Paulo Fonseca will be pleased with the way his side have responded to that run of defeats, though, having overcome Parma and Brescia in their last two matches.

With a gap of eight points on Sassuolo in eighth, Fonseca's men are all but assured of a Europa League spot and are now jostling for position with Napoli and Milan.

The recent set of results should not come as any real surprise given the streaky nature of Roma's performances in the second half of the season.

They have followed up three straight defeats with three wins on the bounce once already this year and will be looking to do the same on Wednesday.

Verona make the trip to the Italian capital on the back of successive draws with Inter Milan and Fiorentina, the latter a cruel result as Patrick Cutrone struck in the 96th minute.

Only once this term have they gone more than three matches without a win, something that Ivan Juric will not want to repeat if his side are to keep their slim European hopes alive.

The Gialloblu are six points off Milan in the final Europa League spot with six games to go, three of those against members of the top five.

Staying alert has proved to be an issue for Verona of late, as highlighted by Cutrone's goal for Fiorentina, having conceded 10 of their last 11 league goals in the second half - four of those in the 90th minute or later.

History suggests that Hellas have little hope of coming away from Rome with anything, meanwhile, having failed to beat the Giallorossi in the league since 1996 - a run of 16 games.

Roma's Serie A form: WLLLWW

Hellas Verona's Serie A form: LDWLDD

Team News

Roma have been without defensive duo Chris Smalling and Juan Jesus, while Davide Santon is carrying a knock and is also a major doubt for this match.

Edin Dzeko dropped down to the bench at the weekend and Justin Kluivert was again overlooked for selection, reportedly due to concerns over his attitude.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan also sat out the Brescia win through suspension but is back available here, with the Armenian being directly involved in eight goals in his last nine outings.

The visitors made just one change between the draws with Inter and Fiorentina, with Samuel Di Carmine replacing Mariusz Stepinski up top.

Juric has no fresh injury concerns and may well go with the same XI that started last time out, though Claud Adjapong and Alan Empereur are pushing for inclusion.

Fabio Borini, who played his first 24 Serie A games with Roma, has missed Verona's last two matches and is not expected to feature in midweek.

Roma possible starting lineup:
Mirante; Spinazzola, Mancini, Ibanez, Kolarov; Diawara, Veretout; Perez, Mkhitaryan, Kluivert; Dzeko

Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Silvestri; Rrahmani, Gunter, Kumbulla; Faraoni, Amrabat, Veloso, Dimarco; Pessina, Lazovic; Carmine

We say: Roma 1-0 Hellas Verona

Roma have returned to winning ways over the past week and are unbeaten at home against Hellas Verona in the three-point era. The visitors have a slim chance of qualifying for Europe, but we expect those dreams to be killed off on Wednesday evening.