Inter wants to further increase its lead over Juventus; Roma, who have three wins in three games post-Mourinho and rose from ninth to fifth place, attack the positions that qualify for the Champions League
Rome, 2024. José Mourinho left, the man of the house Daniele De Rossi entered and… everything changed. With the new helmsman, in three games, the Portuguese team of Rui Patrício, Renato Sanches and João Costa recorded three victories, scored eight goals and conceded only two, they are unstoppable! This afternoon, however, the new coach’s perfect start finally has a test by fire.
Ahead, from 5 pm onwards, in a Roman Olympian in heat, will be the leader Inter, who arrives at this 24th round of Serie A encouraged by the triumph in the last round over rival Juventus, by 1-0, which allowed the The Milan team extends their lead at the top to four points (which could even be seven, as they have one game in hand).
A victory, that against the vecchia signora, which was the sixth consecutive for Simone Inzaghi’s team and the third followed by 1-0 – the previous ones had been against Naples, in the Super Cup final won by the Nerazzurri, and Fiorentina. A sign of a scoring crisis for an Inter that was averaging 2.5 or more goals per game?
Thuram and, above all, Lautaro Martínez are the terror of the opposing goals (Imago)
What is certain is that, after counting (and which, naturally, includes all previous games), the leader has 18 wins, three draws and just one defeat, accounting for 51 goals scored and 10 conceded.
Roma, with their three in three was the calculation that De Rossi made, they rose from 9th place with 29 points, where they remained after the defeat with Milan (1-3) which accelerated Mourinho’s departure, when currently 5th with 38, just one less than Atalanta and the places for access to the next Champions League. Remarkable.
In total, the number of victories in Serie A increased to 11, with five draws and seven defeats. He scored 40 goals (eight in the last three duels) and conceded 26 (only two in the De Rossi era). And, as mentioned, with three consecutive victories, he put an end to three consecutive duels without victories, which, even with Mourinho in charge, added to the fall in the Italian Cup, against eternal rivals Lazio.
Dybala and Lukaku, Roma’s goal men (Imago)
This Saturday afternoon, it will be known whether these recent numbers from Roma, whether this clear recovery and whether the rising morale will have results in the face of Inter’s almost impregnable wall. It will also be known what the weight of recent history is in direct confrontations between the two teams at the capital’s Olimpico: in the two previous seasons, Inter always won on visits to the great Roman stadium, 2-0 and 3-0.
You have to go back to the 7th round of 2016/2017 to find Roma’s last home victory against this afternoon’s rival: it happened on October 2, 2016, almost seven and a half years ago, and the Giallorossi, led by Luciano Spalletti won 2-1, with goals from Dzeko and Manolas (Banega scored for Frank de Boer’s team).
This will be the 99th Roma-Inter in history to be played at the home of the Romans, who are looking for their 40th victory against 32 of the interistas – there were also 27 draws.
It should also be remembered that the two teams continue to compete in Europe, but only one will be in action this week, and it remains to be seen what weight, in terms of squad management, the Roma match in the Europa League will have today. , Thursday, at home with Dutch side Feyenoord. Inter only plays Atlético Madrid on the 20th, in the 1st leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League.
Final note for the return of Englishman Chris Smalling to the Roma squad, five months after a serious injury.
Roma
Probable system: 4x3x3
Eleven likely: Rui Patricio; Karsdorp, Mancini, Diego Llorente and Angelino; Cristante, Paredes and Pellegrini; Dybala, Lukaku and El Shaarawy
Injured: Tammy Abraham
In doubt: Spinazzola
At risk of exclusion: Diego Llorente, Pellegrini and Kristensen
In selection: Evan Ndicka (Ivory Coast)
Daniele De Rossi, Roma coach (Imago photo)
Coach Daniele de Rossi’s preview: «Against Inter you need intelligence and knowledge, knowing that, today, at Roma, it is possible to beat all the teams in the world. And Inter too. Now we have raised the level and we can win. We are aware that we can play a great game, and we know Inter’s strength. We need respect, not too much, and a little bravery.”
Figure: Paulo Dybala. He scored two goals in Roma’s last victory (4-0, against Cagliari), after having scored a successful shot in the previous duel, against Salernitana (2-1). He is the most influential of a luxury attack alongside the powerful Lukaku and the talented El Shaarawy.
Inter
Probable system: 3x5x2
Eleven likely: Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi e Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Çalhanoglu, Mkhitaryan and Dimarco; Thuram and Lautaro Martínez
Injured: Cuadrado and Frattesi
At risk of exclusion: Stretcher and Sticks
Suspended: –
In selections: –
Simone Inzaghi, Inter coach (Imago photo)
Coach Simone Inzaghi’s preview: «There are four intense months left with many games on the calendar. We must continue to fight as we did with Juventus [1-0], it has been an extraordinary journey, but we are just 4 points ahead of Juventus, despite 18 wins in 22 games. And Rome is very strong. One more battle.”
Figure: Lautaro Martínez. He is Inter’s top scorer, with 22 goals in all competitions (29 games), and Serie A’s top scorer, with 19 accurate shots in 20 matches. At the end of January he gave the Nerazzurri the Italian Super Cup, scoring against Napoli in the final in Riyadh (1-0), and secured the three points with Fiorentina (1-0). He’s on fire.