Bavagnoli and Bartoli aware hard work will be vital against Juve

The Giallorosse return to Serie A action on Sunday afternoon – as they go up against the reigning champions in an eagerly-anticipated clash.

After beating Roma CF 6-3 in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday, the team are now focused on showing just how much they have improved since losing 4-0 to the Bianconere at the start of the campaign.

“Having to face Juventus this weekend, clearly I would have liked to have the whole week to prepare for it,” Bavagnoli told Roma TV. “But we have trained well, we are ready.

“We know that we are going up against the best side in the league – a very strong squad with some incredible players, but my girls are growing in confidence and belief too.

“We need to go there with commitment and humility – and try to show that we are maturing, and we have the talent to create problems for them too.”

Speaking earlier in the day to Sky Sport Italia, club captain Elisa Bartoli underlined that the side will have to work very hard if they are to get something from the game.

“Juventus are a great side, they are top of the league for a reason,” she said.

“We need to make sure they have no space to work with, to stop them high up the pitch. Our awareness is improving, we must try to use our youthfulness when we can to be aggressive for the full 90 minutes.

“We are in a good spell right now, of course we needed time to find our identity and work on our style of play. With a young and new squad you need time to work on everything – now we are starting to see the fruits of that, even if the results in the beginning weren’t so good.

“Our aim is to make things tough for everyone we play – and then to grow, to improve even with next season in mind. But the season is still far from over, we are up there, perhaps we can push on and finish third or even second.”

Bartoli, who made the decision to join the club she supported as a child when Roma decided to enter women’s football, explained why she made that move – leaving Fiorentina, one of the established forces in the women’s game, in the process.

“My dream is to win a trophy with Roma – we are still in the Coppa Italia and I would really love to win that,” she said.

“Rome is a big city, one that gives you so much love and passion. Being Romans we really attach ourselves strongly to our club, it’s something that I think we feel a bit differently to any other city.”