Having won all of their league games thus far this season, Milan will be looking to claim yet another three points as Roma will visit San Siro tomorrow evening. Although the Giallorossi are five points behind in the standings, it won’t be an easy game for Stefano Pioli’s men.
The Rossoneri are currently on a 21-game unbeaten run and have been praised for their approach at the start of this season. The exciting football we saw in the post-lockdown period of last season wasn’t a fluke, as proved by the players, and this has certainly increased the hype around the club.
The first three games perhaps didn’t offer the toughest opponents, but then Milan prevailed in the derby against Inter and also secured an easy win at Celtic Park. That being said, tomorrow’s game won’t be an easy one, as the standings don’t paint the full picture when it comes to Roma’s form.
Paulo Fonseca’s side held Juventus to a 2-2 draw, which perhaps doesn’t say much given the Bianconeri’s form, and have also secured two wins. The one game they lost, they didn’t actually lose on the pitch as Hellas Verona were awarded the three points due to a mistake on the squad list.
TEAM NEWS
Matteo Gabbia is still out with COVID-19 and will miss the game, perhaps ready to make a return for the next round. If Alessio Romagnoli hadn’t recovered, it certainly would have been a tough situation for Milan. Ante Rebic is still struggling with his elbow dislocation and will also miss the game.
Hakan Calhanoglu, on the other hand, has miraculously managed to recover from the ankle sprain he suffered in training earlier this week. The Turk is a very important player for Pioli’s side and it looks like he will play from the first minute, meaning Brahim Diaz most likely will miss out despite the recent success.
In total, the manager is set to make five changes to the starting eleven that played against Celtic on Thursday. Davide Calabria, Ismael Bennacer, Alexis Saelemaekers are back after getting some rest last time out, while Rafael Leao will get the chance on the left flank.
As for the away side, Chris Smalling will miss the game due to injury. They will, however, be able to rely on Gianluca Mancini who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week, but then tested negative just a day later. This is a big boost for the Giallorossi, as it would have been tough without both of their defensive stars.
Probable Milan XI (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Calabria, Kjaer, Romagnoli, Theo Hernandez; Kessie, Bennacer; Saelemaekers, Calhanoglu, Leao; Ibrahimovic.
Probable Roma XI (3-4-2-1): Mirante; Mancini, Kumbulla, Ibanez; Santon, Pellegrini, Veretout, Spinazzola; Mkhitaryan, Pedro; Dzeko
STATS
- After a streak of four consecutive defeats, Milan have won three of their last five Serie A matches against Roma (D1 L1), including a win in the most recent encounter, in June 2020.
- Milan remain the only side with a 100% record in Serie A this season – only three times in their history have the Rossoneri won their opening five matches in a Serie A season, doing so most recently in 1992/93.
- Roma have won only one of their last eight away Serie A games played in Lombardy (D4 L3), a 3-0 victory against Brescia last July.
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored 2+ goals in the most Serie A matches (four) since football restarted post lockdown, also doing so in each of his last two appearances in the competition. In addition, the Milan striker has netted a brace in each of his last two matches against Roma in Serie A.
- Roma’s Jordan Veretout has scored five goals in his last six league appearances, with four coming from the penalty spot. However, none of these goals have come away from home.
PREDICTION
As said, I don’t think it will be an easy game for Milan, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t win it. Sure, Roma have started the season quite well but the Rossoneri have done even better and with it being at San Siro, I think they will get the win. A clean-sheet, however, might be hard to achieve.
Milan 2-1 Roma
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