The title race is still ongoing but AC Milan’s hope to dethrone their local contender, Inter, is getting more difficult. With four points clear, Stefano Pioli and Co will have to win in each and every remaining match while hoping Inter stumbles along the way. This weekend, Milan has to travel to the capital to take on AS Roma, which is sitting on the fourth of the table. Giallorossi is looking for more points to secure their position from Atalanta and Lazio on the fifth and sixth.
Both teams’ previous games
AS Roma could only muster a goalless draw while meeting Benevento last weekend. It was their fifth draw result this season and cost them their failure to climb to the third in the standings.
Meanwhile, Rossonerri was hammered by Inter Milan 0-3 last weekend. Lautaro Martinez scored a brace before Romelu Lukaku closed the score sheet to seal their vital victory of the season. Milan wasted the opportunity to reclaim the top.
Possible tactics
Paulo Fonseca is in need of preparing a back up formation since his 3-4-2-1 is less effective lately. His past disagreement with Edin Dzeko, which costs his starting line up position plus a number of figures in the injury table including Nico Zaniolo, Roger Ibanez, Marash Kumbulla and Chris Smalling could potentially change the affectivity of his system. The Portuguese boss might have to deploy 4-3-3 instead with Carles Perez, Pedro and Henrikh Mikhitariyan as the front man. In the midfield, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Jordan Veretrout and Bryan Cristante could be overcrowding the second line.
Stefano Pioli needs to modify his regular 4-2-3-1 formation to 4-3-2-1. Ibrahimovic can still be the frontman but only Rafael Leao and Brahim Diaz will be the ones who support the Swedish veteran behind him. Hakan Calhanoglu will be dropping off a bit deeper to accompany Sandro Tonali and Frank Kessie. Unfortunately, Ismael Bennacer and Daniel Maldini are ruled out for this fixture.
Players to watch
Roma’s top performers this season are Henrikh Mikhitariyan with nine goals and eight assists, the French midfielder Jordan Veretrout with nine goals and two assists and Lorenzo Pellegrini with four goals and five assists so far.
Apart from Ibrahimovic, Milan has other key men in the squad such as the French wing back, Theo Hernandez registering four goals and assists, Hakan Calhanoglu with one goal and eight assists and the former Sevilla defender, Simon Kjaer.
AS Roma vs Milan Prediction
It is a decisive match for both sides. Pioli’s men need three points to keep entailing Inter and Roma needs them for being in the top four. Apparently, both are not in their best form lately with the tiff between Fonseca and Dzeko leading to taking the captaincy from the Bosnian international, while Ibrahimovic has failed to find the back of the net in the past three games. Both are more likely to share spoils here.
Betting Odds
It is a tricky clash but Milan is still the favorite. Ibrahimovic and Co are backed to win at 2/1, whereas AS Roma’s win market is at 13/9. The draw result is at the value of 13/5.
