After back-to-back wins at home, Roma take to the road on Tuesday, when they meet Serie A’s bottom club Cremonese at Stadio Giovanni Zini.

Having kept up the pace in their pursuit of a top-four finish and secured a place in the Europa League’s last 16, the Giallorossi now tackle a winless home side that seem destined for a quick return to Serie B.

Cremonese’s agonising 27-year wait for a Serie A (SA) win continued as they squandered a lead in a 2-2 draw against Torino on Monday. The basement club are now winless in 30 top-flight games, which serves as the longest such streak of any club in SA from 1929/30 onwards. Considering 23 of those games came this season (D9, L14), Davide Ballardini’s side are primed for a swift return to Serie B, with a paltry 17 goals scored and an eye-watering 42 conceded doing little to help their cause.

The arrival of Roma only adds to those concerns considering Cremonese have lost their last four SA H2Hs, failing to score in the last three. Yet, there is some hope that this could be the game they finally get off the mark, as they have picked up all nine of their league points starting the game as outsiders (D9, L12) and did in fact beat Roma 2-1 in the Coppa Italia earlier this season.

The visitors will undoubtedly be gunning for revenge and should travel in high spirits after defeating Salzburg 2-0 on Thursday to advance to the Europa League round of 16. Coach José Mourinho hailed it as “a complete performance” and will gear up to translate that momentum to domestic commitments as a top-four spot is not yet a foregone conclusion. That is perhaps in part due to a recent 13-game league run (W6, D4, L3) where the hit-and-miss Giallorossi won consecutive matches just once.

Roma now have a chance to improve on that tally and post back-to-back league wins after a 1-0 triumph against Verona on their last matchday, with that scoreline now witnessed in 11 league victories under Mourinho. That includes the reverse league fixture, and a repeat may be welcome here as Roma’s recent competitive away form has been uninspiring (W1, D3, L2).

Players to watch: Cremonese’s Cyriel Dessers has been involved in three (G2, A1) home SA goals this season and scored the opener in the Coppa Italia H2H. Andrea Belotti scored Roma’s only goal in that game and also scored their opener against Salzburg on Thursday.

Hot stat: Cremonese have scored 12 of their 17 SA goals during the second-half this campaign but no side has conceded fewer than Roma’s eight during the second period.

Cremonese possible starting lineup:

Carnesecchi; Ferrari, Bianchetti, Vasquez; Sernicola, Benassi, Pickel, Meite, Valeri; Tsadjout, Okereke

Roma possible starting lineup:

Patricio; Mancini, Kumbulla, Ibanez; Karsdorp, Wijnaldum, Cristante, Zalewski; Pellegrini, El Shaarawy; Abraham

Cremonese Serie A form:

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Cremonese form (all competitions):

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Roma Serie A form:

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Roma form (all competitions):

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Despite becoming victims of Cremonese’s giant-killing cup run earlier this month, Roma are not likely to suffer the same fate again in midweek. An abundance of attacking talent complements the visitors’ steely defensive resolve under Mourinho, so they will prolong their hosts’ long wait for a league win.