Serie A: Can Roma Interrupt Inter’s Title run?

AS Roma vs Inter Milan

League leaders Inter Milan head to the capital city on Saturday to meet in form Roma in the Serie A clash of the weekend.

Roma’s 4-0 win over Cagliari on Monday made it four wins on the bounce for I Giallorossi while Inter’s 1-0 victory over Juventus put some distance between them and the Old Lady in the race for the 2024 Scudetto.

Simone Inzaghi’s Nerazzurri are a handy four points clear at the top of the table and with a game in hand. The latest Serie A 2024 betting odds say this is Inter’s Scudetto to lose; meanwhile Roma, under their new boss Daniele de Rossi are back in top four contention and they will give the league leaders a serious test on Saturday.    

Talking Points

The De Rossi effect

From the moment Jose Mourinho departed Rome and de Rossi arrived at the club, there has been quite a transformation, as I Giallorossi have picked up three league wins and a friendly victory over Al-Shabab under the new boss.

2-1 victories at home to Hellas Verona and then Salernitana showed the belief had returned, but Roma’s 4-0 thumping of Cagliari on Monday was a real statement. Goals from Lorenzo Pellegrini, a brace from Paolo Dybala, and a fourth from defender Dean Huijson gave Roma a resounding three points and lifted Roma to within a place of Atalanta in fourth place.

So with a perfect set of Serie A 2024 results since he took over, the mood in the dressing room has improved markedly, and if de Rossi can pick up a result against I Nerazzurri the Roma fans will start to believe that Champions League football is within their grasp. And that seemed a long way away just a month ago.

Romelu Lukaku is top-scoring with nine goals, and he will relish the chance to face his old club, while Paulo Dybala’s double against Cagliari made it eight for the season for the Argentine striker. Both forwards are 30 years old, pretty much in their prime these days, and with skipper Lorenzo Pellegrini back to his best form, Roma have plenty of big-game players to take on the best team in the league.

Inzaghi banned and Frattesi out  

The top two clash between Inter and Juventus was as tight as you’d expect and only an own goal from Federico Gatti could separate the two sides. But it was a crucial victory, and as tension rose on the touch line, head coach Simone Inzaghi picked up his fifth yellow card of the campaign, and he will watch this huge match from the stands.

The one-match ban comes at a bad time for Inzaghi, as his team comes up against a group of players brimming with confidence, and if Roma grab a lead, Inter will need to react quickly.

On the pitch, there are more problems, as influential midfielder Davide Frattesi is highly doubtful after suffering a muscle strain in training. He was an unused substitute in the win over Juventus, having picked up the injury in Inter’s final training session, and the head coach is unlikely to risk the 24-year-old when I Nerazzuri arrive at the Stadio Olimpico. 

In a quiet transfer window Inzaghi stuck with his players which have served him so well in the first half of the campaign. He only brought in Tajon Buchanan, from Club Brugge, and the wide midfielder might make the squad in Frattesi’s absence but there are unlikely to many more changes to the line-up.

Striker Lautaro Martinez, who is in the lead of the race for the Capocannoniere, with 19 goals from 20 games, bagged the winner in I Nerazzurri’s last away game, against Fiorentina, will lead the line and all eyes will be on his shootout with his old striking partner Lukaku.        

History

Inter have won 34 games in the head-to-head with Roma over the past 30 years, including a 1-0 win at the San Siro in October, while I Giallorossi have recorded 21 victories in that time.

And while De Rossi’s men have racked up four consecutive wins, Inter have been triumphant in their last five. Roma have a home record of seven wins, three draws, and a single defeat, while Inter have won nine away games and drawn two.

Betting Tip

Roma are at SBOTOP odds of 3.58 to win and the draw is 3.06 with Inter Milan odds at 1.91 to take all three points. While Inter have become the 1-0 specialists over the past two weeks, I think Roma will push them hard, and the league leaders will need to score more than once to continue their winning run. 

 

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