ROMA v AC MILAN: OPPONENT REVIEW

Five-star welcome for AC Milan in the third weekend of Serie A: Pioli's Rossoneri will be hosted by Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on Friday evening, in the big match at 20:45 CEST. It’s the 177th match between the Lombards and the Capitolines in the top division, the Diavoli certainly arrive better off, playing well so far and having won six points in the first two outings against Bologna and Torino. In fact, Calabria and his teammates have a further motivation in an objective regarding the opening three Serie A matches of the season: Milan could win their first three matches for the third time in the last four campaigns, the same as in the 29 years previous. The Capitolini have dealt with a hesitant start, winning just one point in the 180 minutes played (draw with Salernitana and defeat to Verona). 

An unusual start for the Giallorossi team, they haven’t played the first three matches of Serie A without collecting even one win since 2011/12, when they picked up two draws and one defeat. Roma under Mourinho, who will return to the bench after missing the first two games due to a suspension, have won only one of their last 10 Serie A matches (D5, L4): against Spezia on the final day of last season.

FEW SHOTS CONCEDED, BUT IN THE BIG-5 THE GIALLOROSSI HAVE A NEGATIVE RECORD
While Roma are the team that has conceded the fewest shots in the five big European championships (just made 8), at the same time the Roma has the worst ratio of goals scored to shots conceded: 50% - 4/8 . Another aspect that Pellegrini and his teammates have to be very wary of is goals from open play.

No team has suffered more than Roma at the start of the championship: four goals conceded, equal to Frosinone. And at the opposite end of the pitch, no one has scored more than AC Milan in the 180 minutes that opened up the season (four goals scored, equal to Fiorentina, Inter, Lecce and Napoli). However, the defensive work of the Capitoline players in their own penalty area has nevertheless been effective so far: their opponents managed just 15 touches, less than against any other team. For now, Roma have conceded little overall, but have been punished severely when they took their eye off the ball.

WATCH OUT FOR THE DYBALA-BELOTTI DUO, AOUAR THE SURPRISE, LUKAKU  THE WILDCARD?
Friday evening's game at the Stadio Olimpico, there seems only to be one certainty in attack at the moment: Andrea Belotti. The striker born in 1993 started this season with a brace at home against Salernitana, putting in an impeccable performance, and has a history of scoring against AC Milan. In fact, the Giallorossi number 11 has scored four goals in his last six home appearances against the Rossoneri in Serie A, even if the most recent dates back to 26 September 2019. Belotti has started this season on off the right foot and Friday’s game presents him with another objective, to score in two consecutive home games in Serie A for the first time since December 2020. Another player with a history against AC Milan is Paulo Dybala: with 7 goals and 5 assists for Joya against the Rossoneri in Serie A. With a total of 12 goal involvements, the Diavoli were his second favourite victims of the league, behind Udinese (17).

On the other hand, the player with no priors against Lombardy club, but who deserves a mention for his more than positive start, is Houssem Aouar. The Algerian, who alongside Bryan Cristante and Lorenzo Pellegrini is one of the three Roma players who has created the most chances created in this Serie A season (he counts three), has already demonstrated his technical quality and great dynamism on the pitch. The former Lyon player aims to find a goal in two consecutive league matches for the first time since October 2021, when he was still with the French club in Ligue 1. The last name to mention, more for the doubts about his use than for his record is Romelu Lukaku. In addition to the 5 involvements in 5 appearances against the Rossoneri in the top division (4 goals and a winning pass for the Nerazzurri), his previous experience with Mou could come back fighting: the Belgian was directly involved in 43 goals (33 goals, 10 assists) in the 76 games played under the guidance of the Portuguese coach, between his time at Chelsea and Manchester United. After a summer waiting for a destination, the Belgian is back to confirm his name in our tournament.

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