A feisty fixture is on the cards tonight as Roma lock horns with Milan at the Stadio Olimpico in an early-season blockbuster clash.
Despite having a positive pre-season, Roma didn’t receive the start they would have wished for. We are heading into the third matchday of the new season and Jose Mourinho’s club are yet to open their win account. However, a victory against Milan tonight will certainly put things right back into place as they are targeting a top-four finish this term, after their failure to pick up a single win so far.
The Giallorossi will miss striker Tammy Abraham for most parts of the season through injury but they have landed the signing of Romelu Lukaku who hopes to make a mark in Italy once again. Several new faces have arrived at the capital city club but Mourinho has emphasised that many of the players who came in were off form at the end of last season so it will take time for them to improve.
Meanwhile, Milan approach this match on the back of a thumping 4-1 victory over Torino at the San Siro in their last match of the Serie A. Manager Stefano Pioli has rallied his men well to lead them to a perfect start to the season while having the best goal difference so far in the league.
New signing Christian Pulisic showcased his abilities as he found the net in his official debut for the club and netted another one against Torino. A host of new arrivals are surely going to help the Rossoneri gain momentum and fight for the Scudetto this campaign.
Results from their last five matches across all competitions:
Roma:
L D W L W
Milan:
W W W L L
Team News
Roma will miss Paulo Dybala who is out with a thigh injury picked up from the Verona match. Renato Sanches will continue his stay on the sidelines.
Nicola Zalewski suffered a concussion in the club’s previous match and Leonardo Spinazzola is set to deputize him.
As for Milan, Ismael Bennacer is the only player out of the match.
Samuel Chukwueze, Yunus Musah and Noah Okafor will need to fight for a place in the starting eleven.
Predicted XIs
Roma (3-5-2): Rui Patricio; Mancini, Smalling, Diego Llorente; Karsdorp, Pellegrini, Paredes, Aouar, Spinazzola; Belotti, El Shaarawy
Milan (4-3-3): Maignan; Calabria, Thiaw, Tomori, Hernandez; Loftus-Cheek, Krunic, Reijnders; Pulisic, Giroud, Rafael Leao
Trambak Bhattacherjee | GIFN
