Roma were victorious in the derby with Lazio last time out, triumphing by two goals to nil against their chief rivals in the capital. Luciano Spalletti’s charges have now won seven of their last nine league encounters and look to be in a solid position as the winter break approaches, although upcoming clashes with Milan and Juve could have a large bearing on their season. The Giallorossi have certainly had few problems in an attacking sense so far this term, finding the back of the net 35 times in their 15 outings up to now – more than any other team in the division – and will hope that their firepower can make the difference again this weekend.
Milan also picked up another three points last Sunday, when they secured a somewhat nervy 2-1 victory over lowly Crotone. The Rossoneri were far from their best in front of their own supporters at San Siro but ultimately did enough to get the job done, with strikes from Mario Pasalic and Gianluca Lapadula overturning the one-goal lead the visitors had established through Diego Falcinelli in the 26th minute. That triumph keeps Vincenzo Montella’s men in third place – level on points with Roma and just four adrift of Juventus – which represents a massive improvement on their mid-table finishes in recent seasons. Indeed, although there is still a long way to go, Milan will now fancy their chances of returning to the Champions League this year.
Roma will have to make do without Alessandro Florenzi (knee), Leandro Paredes (ankle) and Mo Salah (ankle), while Kevin Strootman will be forced to watch on from the stands as he begins a two-match ban. Spalletti may opt to stick with the 4-1-4-1 formation which brought success against Lazio in gameweek 15, although he could be tempted to include former Milan wide man Stephan El Shaarawy in his starting XI to provide pace and direct dribbling ability on the counter-attack.
Milan, meanwhile, will be unable to call upon the services of Riccardo Montolivo (knee), Davide Calabria (ankle) and Juraj Kucka (suspended), but Carlos Bacca, Giacomo Bonaventura and Mati Fernandez are in contention for a place in the matchday squad after appearing to shake off various ailments. Former Liverpool man Suso, who has scored four goals in his last three games, is a player Roma will have to keep a close eye on.
Taking everything into account, it is probably worth backing Roma to squeeze past Milan in this highly-anticipated battle between two title challengers in Italy. Home advantage could be key on Monday night, while it is highly questionable whether the visitors to the Stadio Olimpico possess the defensive solidity to keep out a red-hot attacking unit. With that in mind, then, a Roma win with over 2.5 goals scored in total could be the way to go in this one.
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