Roma host AC Milan at the Stadio Olimpico in a crucial Serie A clash with European qualification at stake. While this is not the final round of fixtures, it’s the penultimate weekend, and both sides are running out of time.
Roma can still reach the Champions League, but they must beat Milan and hope other results go in the favour. AC Milan, currently eighth, also need a win and favourable results elsewhere to have any hope of qualifying for Europe.
Roma come into this fixture as one of the form sides in Italy. Under Claudio Ranieri, they have W15-D5-L4, with three of those defeats coming in his first four games. Only Inter and Napoli have collected more points in that time, and no team has conceded fewer goals. Roma are unbeaten in their last 11 home matches, winning nine and conceding just five goals. They havd kept nine clean sheets in their last 13 overall and have only failed to score twice at home.
Milan rank fifth in the away table with W9-D2-L7, but four of their five clean sheets came against the bottom six. Against top-half sides away, they have gone W2-D1-L5. Despite strong xG numbers and ranking second in xPTS away, their defensive issues and patchy form could cost them again.
AS Roma and AC Milan have a long-standing rivalry, with their last 61 meetings producing 22 wins for Milan, 19 for Roma, and 20 draws — a near-even split that reflects the fixture’s competitiveness. Their first Serie A clash this season ended 1-1 at San Siro, while Roma won 2-1 in April’s Europa League quarter-final, advancing 3-1 on aggregate. The rivalry consistently delivers drama, with both teams scoring in 11 of the last 12 meetings. It’s also been a fiery contest, averaging 7.33 cards across those games, with both sides receiving at least two bookings in all 12.
Roma will be without Lorenzo Pellegrini and Paulo Dybala, both of whom are side lined and unavailable for selection. On the Milan side, Samuel Chukwueze, Warren Bondo, and Riccardo Sottil are all ruled out through injury. While none are guaranteed starters, their unavailability limits Milan’s depth and options off the bench.
Roma (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Ndicka; Rensch, Cristante, Kone, Angelino; Soule, Shomurodov; Dovbyk.
AC Milan (3-4-2-1): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Jimenez, Fofana, Reijnders, Hernandez; Pulisic, Leao; Gimenez.
