Serie A: High Flying Roma Plan a Raid on Milan

AC Milan vs AS Roma

Gian Piero Gasperini’s Roma head to Milan on Sunday night hoping to hold on to their position, joint top of the early Serie A table.    

This meeting is fourth versus second and, should Max Allegri’s Milan take all three points they will leapfrog I Giallorossi; so this is a six pointer of some magnitude. 

Both teams were in action in midweek as part of a full programme of top flight football and Roma picked up a 2-1 win over Parma, on the back of a 1-0 victory away to Sassuolo last weekend. Meanwhile, Milan made it back-to-back draws when they were held 1-1 away to Atalanta, after drawing 2-2 at home to Pisa last weekend.  

The latest Serie A 2025 betting odds back both Milan and Roma to finish in the top four this season, nudging out Juventus; so there will be plenty of neutrals keeping an eye the San Siro when they kick off at 8-45pm local time.    

 

Talking Points

Milan need to turn draws into wins 

An eighth-place finish last season has given I Rossoneri a lighter workload than their rivals; and with a proven winner in the dugout they should expect to be up in the top four and challenging for the Scudetto. So a return of just one victory in the last four games is not what Allegri would have wanted, particularly on the back of an impressive win over reigning champions Napoli. 

An end to end match with Juventus ended in a 0-0 stalemate and Milan followed that up with a well-earned 2-1 victory over Fiorentina as a resurgent Rafael Leao scored a double. I Rossoneri took an early lead against Atalanta on Tuesday but failed to hold on in Bergamo; and they had to scrap for a 2-2 draw the previous weekend at home to 18^th placed Pisa.  

Allegri’s men must find a way to see games through, while ensuring they remain tight at the back… to avoid going 2-1 down to teams like Pisa, particularly at the San Siro. But the boss’s mood will not have been helped by the news that Leao, who was substituted at half-time against Atalanta, is doubtful for the clash with Roma. While he has not suffered a serious injury the Portuguese star has a hip problem and he will be assessed later in the week.   

 

Gasperini has Roma on the front foot 

In recent seasons, Roma has not been known for its attacking football but the recruitment of Atalanta’s charismatic coach signalled an intention for the club to take the attack to their opponents more often. Veteran striker Paulo Dybala scored his first goal of the campaign in the win over Sassuolo and he followed that up with an assist for Mario Hermoso on Wednesday against Parma. 

Gasperini is looking for the perfect creative unit to give him the best chance to win every match he approaches. He brought on Artem Dovbyk late in the game against Parma and the big Ukrainian made the game safe with a clinical finish on 81 minutes. Stephan El Sharaawy and Argentine forward Matias Soule are both pushing for a start against Milan but Roma will probably be without Evan Ferguson after he limped off after just seven minutes on Wednesday. The loan signing of the Brighton striker made big Serie A 2025 news in the summer, but he is yet to score a goal and his game time has been reducing. 

So Gasperini will keep on looking to strengthen his front line and he has been linked with Manchester United’s unsettled striker Joshua Zirkzee, who may well be receptive to a move back to Italy after he did so well at Bologna. With Europa League football to cope with, including a meeting with Rangers next week, Gasperini needs a deep squad.        

 

History 

These two teams have locked horns in big games for many a year and, over the past 52 encounters there have been 19 Milan wins, 18 Roma wins and 15 draws.  

Last season the two teams played out a 1-1 draw at the San Siro in December and then Milan beat Roma 3-1 in the Coppa Italia quarter final. But the last match went the other way as I Giallorossi won their last home game of the campaign, beating I Rossoneri 3-1 and ending Milan’s hopes of European football.   

Milan have won three and drawn three of the last six games while Roma have won three and lost three.  

 

Betting Tip

The hosts are at SBOTOP odds of 1.95 to win this game with Roma at 3.75, and both sides will be eying three points. But I think they will cancel each other out and, for an alternative bet, the most likely score line is a 1-1 draw at odds of 6.40.

   

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