Overview
After a period of decline at the beginning of the year, Roma has returned strongly with 3 consecutive victories in Serie A without conceding any goals.
Most recently, the capital team easily overcame Torino - the opponent who just eliminated them from the Coppa Italia just a few days before. Donyell Malen scored in his debut match after the opening goal was denied by VAR, before Paulo Dybala shone with a classy finish, helping Giallorossi continue to chase Juventus in the top 4 competition group.
With one more clean sheet, Gian Piero Gasperini's team is currently only 4 points behind AC Milan. Although the hope of winning the championship has become fragile, Roma's main goal is still a ticket back to the Champions League.
In addition to the path in Serie A, Giallorossi can also go around with the Europa League title. The 2-0 victory over Stuttgart, with a double by young talent Niccolo Pisilli, helped them take the lead before the final round of the group stage. In all competitions, Roma has won 7 of their last 9 home matches.
This weekend, Olimpico stadium continues to be the focus of Italian football when Roma welcomes AC Milan, just hours after the great battle between Napoli and Juventus in Turin.
Although both teams have significantly improved their performance compared to the same period last season, Roma still faces not very positive statistics. They have lost 9 of their last 16 encounters with Milan in Serie A, including the defeat in the first leg in November.
In the opposite direction, Milan traveled to Rome with extremely stable form. Since the second round of Serie A, Max Allegri's team has gone through a 20-match unbeaten streak in the tournament - a record only behind Bayern Munich in the top 5 European leagues.
After a comeback against Como, Rossoneri continued to defeat Lecce thanks to Niclas Fullkrug's late goal. The first goal of the German striker in Serie A helped Milan maintain pressure on Inter in the Scudetto race.
Notably, since August, Milan's only defeats have come in cup tournaments. Including the defeat to Napoli in the Italian Super Cup and Lazio in the Italian Coppa - both are knockout matches.
Returning to Olimpico, where they lost to Roma 1-3 in May last year, Milan understands that a victory this time will not only help them continue to chase Inter, but can also almost eliminate Roma from the championship race.
Personnel situation
Roma will enter the great battle at the Olimpico with no shortage of personnel losses. The home team will certainly be missing Mario Hermoso, Artem Dovbyk and former Milan player Stephan El Shaarawy due to injury. Gianluca Mancini and Evan Ferguson also have physical problems after the victory over Stuttgart and are still being closely monitored.
Newcomer Donyell Malen does not qualify for the Europa League but made a strong impression in his Serie A debut. The Dutch player received public praise from coach Gian Piero Gasperini and is likely to replace Ferguson in attack, pairing with Paulo Dybala.
On the opposite side, Rafael Leao is likely to return to the starting lineup of AC Milan. The Portuguese star has contributed to 8 goals against Roma in all competitions, but he has to compete fiercely with three attacking options with completely different styles, including Christopher Nkunku, Christian Pulisic and Fullkrug.
Regarding the injury situation, striker Santiago Gimenez is the only name that is definitely absent from Milan.
Expected lineup:
Svilar, Mancini, Ndicka, Ghilardi, Celik, Cristante, Kone, Wesley, Soule, Dybala, Malen.
AC Milan: Maignan, Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic, Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot, Bartesaghi, Pulisic, Leao.
The match between Roma and AC Milan takes place at 2:45 AM on January 26 (Vietnam time).
