Roma’s push for a Champions League spot is hitting its most critical stretch, and this weekend’s trip to Parma could be the defining moment of their season.

Fresh off a commanding 4-0 victory over Fiorentina, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side has clawed its way back into the top-four race. With just three matches remaining, Roma sit only one point behind fourth place—close enough to dream, but far enough to feel every missed opportunity from earlier in the campaign. That statement win wasn’t just about the three points; it announced that this team is ready to fight until the very end.

Now comes the tricky part. Sunday’s visit to the Stadio Ennio Tardini looks favorable on paper. Parma are comfortably mid-table, with no relegation fears and little left to play for beyond pride. Roma, by contrast, arrive with urgency, momentum, and a newly energized attack that just tore through Fiorentina. Gasperini made the stakes crystal clear in his pre-match comments: “We know that every match is decisive.” At this stage, there is simply no room for dropped points if Roma want to keep their European dreams alive.

But here’s where the familiar tension creeps in. Anyone who has followed this club knows that a fixture like this—facing a lower-stakes opponent, with pressure mounting above—has a way of turning into a nail-biter. Roma have made a habit of turning straightforward late-season opportunities into anxious, uncomfortable afternoons. A favored side against a team with nothing to lose? That’s exactly the kind of scenario that has produced heartbreak before.

Still, if Gasperini’s Roma are truly beginning to gel, and if this recent surge is more than just another false dawn, then this is the kind of match they simply have to win. They’ll still need a little help from elsewhere to break into the top four, but first, they must handle their own business in Parma. For Roma fans still daring to believe, the dream is alive—but it starts with three points on Sunday.