ROMA V AC MILAN: MATCH PREVIEW

A very demanding trio of fixtures awaits the Rossoneri before the next international break, starting with this evening’s showdown against Roma at the Olimpico. Then, Coach Pioli’s men will face Porto at San Siro and Inter in the Derby next Sunday. One step at a time, without making any calculations: first up, it’s the Giallorossi, who are unbeaten at home so far this season. It’s time to look ahead to the matchday 11 showdown in Serie A with our Match Preview: enjoy!

MILANELLO
Following Theo Hernández’s return against Torino at San Siro, Fodé Ballo-Touré and Brahim Díaz will both be available for the clash at the Olimpico. This won’t be the case for Ante Rebić, however, who is still struggling with an ankle problem he picked up against Hellas Verona, as well as Castillejo. Maignan, Plizzari, Florenzi and Messias remain sidelined. After Tuesday’s match against Torino, the team were given a day off on Thursday and returned to training Friday morning. In a very demanding period, the Coach was able to rotate ahead of a trio of fixtures that will see the Rossoneri face the Giallorossi, Porto (at 18:45 CET on Wednesday at San Siro) and Inter (20:45 CET next Sunday).

"Every match is a test, and the one against Roma will be difficult," said Coach Pioli on the eve of the game. "We must continue to have hunger, work like we’re currently doing and approach every game as if it were the last, trying to win whenever we take to the pitch. No player is indispensable; I want everyone to be attentive and have the team at the forefront of their minds."

ROMA
The Giallorossi were also in action midweek, emerging victorious at the Unipol Domus in Cagliari. After being granted a day off on Thursday, Mourinho’s men got back to work on Friday morning. Roma’s team is pretty much set: Rui Patricio in goal, Karsdorp, Mancini, Ibañez and Viña in defence, Cristante and Vereout as holding midfielders. Lining up on the right of the Giallorossi’s 4-2-3-1 will be Zaniolo, with Pellgrini set to perform the trequartista role behind Abraham. The only doubt is who will play on the left, with both Mkhitaryan and El Shaarawy hoping to get the nod.

"I like playing against the best sides," said Mourinho before the match. "I want to transmit this message to my players. I’ve never faced Pioli but will have the pleasure to meet and talk to him tomorrow. He deserves credit for the job he’s doing, but we’re talking about the evolution of a club: behind him, he has people like Paolo Maldini, a stable structure and a squad that is improving with every transfer window that goes by. They’re in a good position, playing Champions League football and are doing very well."

PRE-MATCH
AC Milan won the most recent encounter between the two teams at the Olimpico, a 2-1 victory last season with the deciding goals coming from Kessie and Rebić. There have been 86 Serie A meetings between Roma and AC Milan at the home of the Giallorossi, with a record of 26 home wins, 31 draws and 29 victories for us. 

Both AC Milan and Napoli have won nine of the first ten games of the league season - only on four occasions in the entire history of Serie A has a team achieved ten wins in their first eleven matches: Juventus in 2005/06, Roma in 2013/14, Napoli in 2017/18, and Juventus in 2018/19. For their part, Roma come into this match following a comeback win over Cagliari and a hard-fought draw at the Olimpico against Napoli before that. Especially on home soil, the Giallorossi have put together a solid run: four wins and one draw in Serie A, and a big win in the Conference League against CSKA Sofia.

SERIE A
Fabio Maresca will be the referee in Roma v AC Milan: from the Napoli section, it will be the 88th match he's taken charge of in Serie A. Maresca has already been the man in the middle for a game between Roma and AC Milan in Serie A: 1-1 at the Olimpico in February 2019. The Diavolo have avoided defeat on eight of the ten occasions they've been refereed by Fabio Maresca in Serie A (W5, D3). The last Rossoneri match with Maresca in the middle was Parma v AC Milan on 10 April 2021, which the Rossoneri won 3-1.

Matchday 11 kicked off yesterday with three early games: Atalanta 2-2 Lazio, Hellas Verona 2-1 Juventus and Torino 3-0 Sampdoria. Today’s action began with Inter v Udinese at 12:30 CEST. Also on the cards is Fiorentina v Spezia (15:00), Genoa v Venezia (15:00), Sassuolo v Empoli (15:00) and Salernitana v Napoli (18:00). In addition to these games, tomorrow we will see Bologna v Cagliari at 20:45 (all times CET).

Here are the standings in Serie A as of the beginning of Matchday 11: Napoli, AC Milan 28; Inter 21; Roma, Atalanta* 19; Lazio* 18; Fiorentina, Hellas Verona*, Juventus* 15; Sassuolo, Torino* 14; Bologna, Empoli 12; Udinese 11; Sampdoria* 9; Venezia, Spezia 8; Genoa, Salernitana 7; Cagliari 6. (*= match in hand)

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