AC MILAN v ROMA: KEYS TO THE MATCH

A big showdown awaits at San Siro: AC Milan’s first home match of 2023 will be against José Mourinho’s Roma. Sunday’s 20:45 CET kick-off will be a difficult and interesting encounter, and motivation won’t be lacking. With the matchday 17 clash in Serie A fast approaching, we take a look at some of the key aspects that could decide it.

THE NO.9 DUEL
Giroud against Abraham, Oli against Tammy. Two former Chelsea players who are looking to bounce back. The Rossoneri man scored nine goals across Serie A and the Champions League during the opening period of the season and also starred in the recent World Cup, where he bagged four times and, in doing so, overtook Thierry Henry to become France’s all-time top goalscorer. A starter in Salerno, Oli came close to scoring on several occasions and would have deserved a goal as he looks to put the penalty shootout defeat to Argentina in Doha behind him. Abraham, meanwhile, didn’t make Southgate’s World Cup squad after failing to reach the heights of last season during the opening period of the current campaign. He started on the bench for Roma’s first fixture of 2023. Nevertheless, he made a decisive contribution against Bologna by heading off the line to stop Lucumí from equalising. Giroud and Abraham last came up against each other at San Siro on 6 January 2021, and both found the net that day.

HOME SOIL
The Rossoneri are set to take to the pitch in Milan for the first time in almost two months: their last match at San Siro was the 2-1 win over Fiorentina on 13 November 2022. As was the case in 2022, their first home game of the year will be against Roma, and they’ll play it in front of a sell-out crowd. The team’s form at San Siro has been excellent so far this Serie A campaign: they’ve won seven and lost just once, against Napoli. Being back in front of their own fans will undoubtedly give a further boost to Pioli’s lads, who, after some below-par friendly performances, are feeling energised again after their win in Salerno. The Diavolo’s recent home record against Roma has been positive: they’re unbeaten in four against the Giallorossi (three wins), who last beat them in Milan in October 2017. However, Roma recently brought a similar hoodoo against Inter to an end, defeating the Nerazzurri at San Siro for the first time since February 2017. The Giallorossi’s 2-1 victory (goals from Dybala and Smalling) on 1 October 2022 was proof that Mourinho’s side know how to be very tricky opponents on the road.

DEFENCES ON HIGH ALERT
Against Salernitana, the Rossoneri rediscovered their defensive solidity, something which was on full display during the closing stages of last season. The backline, which contained Calabria after his three-month lay-off, performed well at the Arechi, with the hosts scoring from one of their very few chances. Now, the objective is to try to reduce moments of carelessness still further and return to keeping clean sheets, something they’ve only achieved twice in their last eight Serie A matches (v Juventus and Cremonese) and on four occasions in the opening 16 matchdays. As for Roma, they’ve shipped two fewer goals than AC Milan in the league so far (14 v 16) and have generally been excellent in defence, conceding just four times in their last five Serie A fixtures (only Juve, with zero, have done better in this period). Mourinho’s 3-4-1-2 is very effective in terms of containing opponents, even if it sometimes leads to the Giallorossi playing deeper and offering slightly less in attack (19 goals scored compared to AC Milan’s 31).  

Match KITS, clothing, accessories, gift ideas and much more: visit the AC Milan online Store!