“It is a difficult game and we are gambling a lot of our chips for European qualification,” commented the Coach.

“Palermo are coming off a defeat and will be very eager to make up for that on home turf.”

The two teams are locked together on 49 points – just three adrift of Roma in sixth place – and have gone from early struggles to pushing for a place in continental competition.

“We must be focused from start to finish, remain consistent and carry on doing everything we have done until now.

“It will be important to maintain our sharpness and stay alert. I think the substitutions may well be decisive in this match, so I hope to have the right intuition.”

Andrea Cossu is out injured, so either Andrea Lazzari or Jeda should play behind strikers Robert Acquafresca and Alessandro Matri.

Diego Lopez sits out the last match in his three-game ban, reduced from an initial five on appeal for his brawl with Fiorentina midfielder Felipe Melo.