It is no surprise to AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri that Roma are in the hunt for a place in the top four in Serie A under the leadership of Gian Piero Gasperini.
Roma hosts Milan on Sunday, with only four points separating the two teams, who are fourth and second respectively.
Allegri’s side will also hope to close the gap on leaders Inter, despite the Italian coach’s constant insistence that the Rossoneri are not in contention for the Scudetto.
Roma have won their last three league games, while Milan are unbeaten since opening day and Allegri is anticipating a big battle between the two sides.
“Roma is no surprise, I knew we would see them there together with Gasperini,” said Allegri.
“We are looking at four teams competing for three places. I am leaving out Inter. They are doing very well and have a forecast of 90 points.”
“We hope that we [Italy] maybe five teams in the Champions League, otherwise one will be left out.
“This will be a good game against a team that is fighting us for a place in the top four.
“Gasperini is doing great. The formation is typical of the coach: they are very good both in the attacking phase and in defense.”
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PLAYERS TO WATCH
Roma – Donyell Malen
Donyell Malen scored against Torino on his Serie A debut. In the era of three points for a win (since 1994-95), only two players scored in each of their first two Serie A matches for Roma: Sergio Oliveira (January 2022) and current Inter manager Cristian Chivu (September 2003).
AC Milan-Rafael Leao
Rafael Leao was involved in eight goals (two goals, six assists) against Roma in all competitions, only registering more goals against Lazio (nine) before Milan (also eight against Cagliari).
Notably, his six assists against Roma are a record for the Portuguese against a single opponent in official matches.
MATCH PREDICTION – draw
Roma have won each of their last three Serie A matches without conceding a single goal; the Giallorossi could record four consecutive wins in Serie A for the first time since September and October 2013, while keeping a clean sheet each time (in that case, seven in a row under Rudi Garcia).
Milan, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last twenty Serie A matches (W13 D7); Of the teams in the five major European leagues, only Bayern Munich has a longer unbeaten streak (27) than Allegri’s team.
Milan have won more Serie A matches against Roma than any other opponent (81 wins from 181 games, with 54 draws and 46 wins for Roma).
Furthermore, Milan have now scored 262 Serie A goals against Roma – they have only scored more against Fiorentina (269).
Roma and Milan are two of the three teams to have achieved the most points compared to their first 21 Serie A matches last season. Roma are joint first with Como with +15 points (42 to 27), while Milan are third with +12 points (46 to 34).
OPTA CHANCE OF WINNING
Roma – 36.2%
Draw – 30.4%
AC Milan – 33.4%
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