Tuesday 13 June 2023 15:06, UK
Last season's disappointing sixth-place Serie A finish is a fast-fading memory for Roma as they go into Sunday's game against Bologna flying solo at the top of the standings.
The Giallorossi, who also lost the Coppa Italia final to city rivals Lazio back in May, have hit back with a vengeance.
Wednesday's 2-0 triumph at Sampdoria allowed Roma to record their best ever Serie A start in the club history.
The result was their fifth straight win and moved Roma two points clear of Napoli and Juventus.
"We have taken 15 points while taking three of our five wins on the road," Roma coach Rudi Garcia said.
"That is something to be happy about. It is good to have won five consecutive games but what really interests me is to enter the history books at the end of the season, not now."
Napoli were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw by promoted-side Sassuolo in midweek to see their four-match winning streak come to an end. Sassuolo had previously lost 7-0 to Inter Milan.
The Naples outfit visits Genoa on Saturday.
Juve, meanwhile, go into Sunday's city derby at Torino in a buoyant mood after an own goal from Chievo's Alessandro Bernardini handed the Italian champions a 2-1 midweek victory in Verona.
Inter Milan face Cagliari in Trieste looking to keep up their perfect form on the road.
Lazio are unlikely to underestimate Sassuolo when the two sides meet in Emilia-Romagna this weekend.
Sassuolo earned their first point of the campaign against Napoli following their humiliating defeat to Inter.
AC Milan will again be without striker Mario Balotelli for their home game against Sampdoria on Saturday. The Rossoneri battled back for a 3-3 draw at Bologna in midweek and lie in 12th place, with just five points from five games.
Atalanta look to stop the rot when they host Udinese in Bergamo.
The Bergamaschi head into the encounter on the back of three straight defeats, including Wednesday's 4-3 loss at Parma.
The Gialloblu face a stern test next when they square off against in-form Fiorentina in Tuscany.
Catania go into Sunday's game against Chievo still winless. The Sicilians have mustered just one point.
Lack of goalscoring has been Catania's main problem this campaign with the islanders having found the back of the net just twice so far.
Verona and Livorno will battle it out at the Bentegodi stadium on Sunday with the two sides having enjoyed a solid start in their return to Serie A.
Both teams gained promotion to the top flight this summer and sit in the top half of the standings, Livorno with eight points and Verona just one point behind.
