Serie A: Roma and Milan are in the Mix

AS Roma vs AC Milan

Sixth plays eighth in the 2025 Scudetto melee when the Serie A match between AS Roma and AC Milan sees two teams aiming for Europe and not yet out of the chase for Champions League places.

It’s a frantic race for the finish line in Serie A with Napoli and Inter battling it out for the 2025 title. Atalanta are set fair in third, and then Juventus, Lazio, Roma, Bologna, Milan, and Fiorentina all separated by five points between fourth and ninth.

The SBOTOP odds say we’re in for a belter of a clash at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome with Claudio Ranieri’s Roma favourites to win this six-pointer. I Giallorossi come into the game on the back of a 2-1 loss away to Atalanta but were unbeaten in their previous seven, while Sergio Conceicao’s AC Milan won 3-1 at home to Bologna last week and face the same opponents in the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday night.         

 

Talking Points

Ranieri will ask Roma to channel their anger

I Giallorossi fell to a rare defeat away to the high-flying Atalanta last week, but there was plenty of controversy in the game as Roma were denied a penalty in the second half by VAR. Referee Simone Sozza awarded a spot-kick when Manu Kone was fouled by Mario Pasalic, but then the inevitable VAR intervention persuaded him to change his mind. The normally calm Ranieri was fuming and to make matters worse the AIA boss, Antonio Zappi, later insisted that the VAR call was correct.

In any case, Atalanta went on to win the game with a late goal from Ibrahim Sulemana, leaving Roma three points shorter than Ranieri believed they should be. But all is not lost, and he will tell his players they can rectify matters by beating Milan. Striker Artem Dovbyk is the biggest goal threat with 12 goals from 31 games, while Bryan Cristante, who scored Roma’s goal against La Dea, will pull the strings in midfield.  

When Roma faced Inter Milan recently, we saw the tenacious side of Ranieri’s team as they beat I Nerazzurri 1-0, as the second of three league wins by the same scoreline. I Giallorossi aren’t always easy on the eye, but they can grind out a result. They have the support of the new Pope Leo XIV, who was heard to proclaim “Forza Roma” in a recent encounter with a supporter. I wonder what Lazio fans will make of that.     

 

Competition for places is healthy for Milan

I Rossoneri fought back from a one-goal deficit to pull off an impressive 3-1 win over Euro rivals Bologna last week, and the attacking prowess of Conceicao’s team blew their visitors away.

The manager changed his system to a 4-4-2 with devastating effect as a brace from substitute Santi Gimenez and an 11^th league goal of the campaign from Christian Pulisic made it a comfortable victory in the end. Coneceicao was delighted, saying: “The players gave a strong response and those who came off the bench also gave a positive response. This is the kind of spirit I like about this side.”

He has plenty of attacking options with Pulisic registering 11 goals and nine assists, Tijjani Reijnders with 10 goals and five assists, and Rafael Leao with eight goals and eight assists, and the recently arrived Joao Felix made an impressive debut in the Coppa Italia quarter-final against Roma.

He will have to choose between Gimenez and Luka Jovic to play on the left side, but either way, Conceicao has scope to change the game from the bench, with ways of fighting their way back into games. As well as beating Bologna from behind, Milan’s recent home match against Euro rivals Fiorentina was another decent fight back as goals from Jovic and Tammy Abraham earned a 2-2 draw.

After a poor first half of the campaign, this team is in a different place now, and it certainly doesn’t know when it’s beaten.    

 

History

With 28 victories to 22, AC Milan have edged the head-to-head meetings with Roma. And when the two teams met in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, Abraham scored a brace in a 3-1 victory for I Rossoneri.   

The visitors come into the game on a strong run of five wins from their last six, while their hosts have won three, drawn two, and lost one. So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at the pre-match Serie A 2025 odds and make a call.

 

Betting Tip

There will be plenty of interest in the Serie A 2025 updates, with points to be dropped elsewhere in the race for Europe. Fiorentina host Bologna in another six-pointer, while Lazio have a devil of a fixture away to Scudetto chasing Inter Milan.

Fourth placed Juventus shouldn’t really slip up at home to Udinese, but stranger things happen at this stage of the campaign.

So, which of Roma and AC Milan will drop points? I have a sneaky suspicion that both will, with the draw priced at 3.23. I Giallorossi are favourites at 1.98, and the Rossoneri victory is at 3.17. If I had to side with either, I slightly favour Milan who come into the game with serious momentum and a more fluid attacking threat.

   

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