Milan vs Roma preview:
Possible starting lineups:
AC Milan:
Maignan; Florenzi, Tomori, Romagnoli, Hernandez; Bakayoko, Tonali; Messias, Diaz, Saelemaekers; Ibrahimovic
AS Roma:
Patricio; Kumbulla, Mancini, Ibanez; Karsdorp, Veretout, Cristante, Pellegrini, Vina; Zaniolo, Abraham
Milan welcome Roma to Stadio San Siro on Thursday night as both teams are looking for the first points in 2022. The Rossoneri are second on the table, four points adrift of the leaders Inter. The actual form is mixed, one win, one draw and one defeat in the last three rounds. Milan lost 1:0 to Napoli, shared the points with Udinese and won 4:2 against Empoli in the last match of 2021. Franck Kessie was the key name on that match after scoring the first two goals. Alessandro Florenzi and Theo Hernandez were the scorers of third and fourth goal. I believe the atmosphere in the squad is much better now. But coach Stefano Pioli has lot of issues ahead of this match. Two key players are on international duty - Franck Kessie has been called up for Ivory Coast, while Ismael Bennacer for Algeria. Kessie is the club second-best scorer with five goals, while Bennacer is also an important player in the midfield. In addition, Fode Ballo-Toure is called by Senegal. Each of the three national teams are contenders to go all the way in the tournament and Pioli may miss out on the players for the entirety of January and February as they will need some rest too. Simon Kjaer is out for the rest of the season. The second-choice goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu has tested positive for COVID-19 and he is in self-isolation. The club have announced that another unnamed player is also infected. On the positive note, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Rafael Leao, Ante Rebic and Davide Calabria are all back in full training.
Rossoneri are on the sixth place with 32 points, six adrift of the fourth-placed Atalanta. Coach Jose Mourinho is under pressure, although his job is safe. The actual form is good, two wins and one draw on the last three rounds. First they beat Spezia with 2:0 thanks to goals scored by two defenders Chris Smalling and Roger Ibanez. Then came the most valuable victory - Roma outplayed Atalanta in Bergamo and won 4:1. Abraham gave Roma the lead after just one minute. Their advantage was doubled shortly after by Nicolo Zaniolo who finished off a swift counter-attack. Atalanta were given a boost in the second half when they found the net through a Roma own goal, but that was everything they did. Defender Chris Smalling piled on the Bergamo’s misery four minutes later when he smashed in a volley - making it the first time in Serie A history that two English players have scored in the same game. Finally, Abraham put the game to bed just eight minutes before time. He’s already notched 12 goals in 24 games in all competitions this season and doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. And just when everything look shine, the Giallorossi dropped two points against Sampdoria at home. Their lack of consistency is probably the biggest problem for Mourinho. In addition, he will be missing Amadou Diawara and Ebrima Darboe as they are on international duty. The club have not confirmed the name of the players infected with COVID-19, but Borja Mayoral, Chris Smalling and Daniel Fuzato are believed to be the three men who are positive. Tammy Abraham was involved in a car crash on Monday but should start.
Milan vs Roma Prediction:
Milan are favorites in this match, however I think Roma could remain unbeaten. The Giallorossi showed against Atalanta they could easily score through fast counterattacks. In addition, Milan are without Franck Kessie and Ismael Bennacer. Their absence is a huge handicap. I also think Mourinho is much better tactician than Pioli. The guests could remain unbeaten at San Siro.
Milan vs Roma Pick: Roma +0.5 @ 1.81 with SBOBET