7M INSIGHT - AC Milan vs Roma

Posted Saturday, September 30, 2017 by 7M Sport

There is a high-profile game in Matchweek 7 of Serie A. AC Milan will entertain Roma at San Siro. Now both sides share the same number of points in the table, but Roma have one game in hand. Who will get the upper hand this time?

Milan have struggled to beat Rijeka 3-2 at home in mid-week thanks to Patrick Cutrone's last-gasp winner, but this win is not convincing enough to satisfy the fans. The Rossoneri have a spending spree this summer, bringing in as many as 11 new signings in the transfer window. People have high expectations of this brand-new Milan side. After a fine start this season, Vincenzo Montella's team seem to endure shaky form recently. A crushing 1-4 defeat to Lazio earlier and the last 0-2 loss to Sampdoria are blows to Milan's confidence. Besides, Montella's coaching ability is being questioned. He is criticized for failing to make adjustments according to the situation on the pitch. Moreover, he changes Milan's system from 3-5-2 to 4-3-3 frequently, which makes the players hard to find their own positions, especially for the newcomers. There are already reports that the newly-sacked Carlo Ancelotti will replace Montella to helm the Rossoneri for the rest of the season. Although these are only rumors, Montella is now really in crisis if Milan fail to put up good performance in the upcoming 2 big games – this one against Roma and the next one with city rivals Inter Milan.

Roma, on the other hand, are now in great momentum. After obtaining a win in UCL in a long trip to Azerbaijan, the Giallorossi are in a 4-game winning streak. Besides, they boast of great attacking power, with 12 goals scored in their last 4 matches. Although Patrik Schick and Diego Perotti will remain on the sidelines, Eusebio Di Francesco still has other options, with the likes of Alessandro Florenzi and Edin Dzeko. The visitors should be expected more in this game.

The key players

Andre Silva has bagged 4 goals in UEL, but Montella seems to prefer Nikola Kalinic in Serie A matches. The Croatia international has moved to AC Milan this summer. Now he has 2 goals to his name in the league. Standing behind him is the Spaniard Suso. This attacking midfielder has completed 2.3 key passes per game on average. He will serve as the playmaker on the pitch.

7M INSIGHT - AC Milan vs Roma

In Di Francesco's team, Edin Dzeko is undoubtedly the talisman for Roma. The powerful striker has fired 6 goals in his 5 appearances for the Giallorossi this season. As the top scorer of Serie A last term, Dzeko will pose a great threat to Milan's shaky defensive system.

Tips

Bet365 offer AC Milan with an opening line of -0.25 at lengthy odds, and the line has changed to -0.00 afterwards, so Montella's side fail to earn enough support from the bookies. As for the 1×2 Odds, William Hill have greatly raised the odds for a home win, which is also against the Rossoneri.

In terms of the past encounters, Roma are absolutely the better side in their last 10 games against Milan, with 5 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss. In conclusion, although Milan possess home field advantage in this clash, we are still going for a Roma win as well as in AH.

(7M / Oliver)