(Football news) Two biggest teams in Italy play each other as the defending champions aim to further reduce their deficit to Napoli and their visitors from the capital seeking to push on in for a in the top-four. After Milan’s win over Salernitana on Wednesday, Leao has been involved in eight goals from his last 10 league appearances in the month of January as he has scored five goals and three assists so he clearly excels in getting the new year off to a fast start.
Milan got their 11th win of the season as league leaders Napoli stumbled at San Siro – losing to Inter, which meant that they closed the gap to 5 points at the top. Stefano Pioli’s side have won 10 of their 11 home fixtures, so they can feel confident upon returning to San Siro. The Rossenari have won each of their last three league meetings with their counterparts from the capital – and have the chance to make it four wins in a row for the first time since 1990. For AS Roma a Champions League qualification spot is still a realistic aim for last year’s Europa Conference League winners. The Europa League knockout rounds will commence next month as Roma will require their forward line in the form of a faltering Tammy Abraham and World Cup winner Paulo Dybala to fire on all cylinders between now and June. For the Capital side five wins on the road is one of the best records in the league.
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Tatarusanu; Calabria, Kalulu, Tomori, Hernandez; Tonali, Bennacer; Saelemaekers, Diaz, Leao; Giroud
Roma possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Mancini, Smalling, Ibanez; Celik, Cristante, Pellegrini, Zalewski; Zaniolo, Dybala; Abraham
Inter will return to action after handing out their first defeat of the season to leaders Napoli, while Monza took a point home from Florence to edge clear of the relegation zone. Edin Dzeko’s close-range header helped Inter to victory against Napoli, who sat 11 points clear of their Nerazzurri rivals before kickoff. The veteran striker capped an impressive performance from Simone Inzaghi’s side as they kept their hopes of a Scudetto challenge alive approaching the second half of the season.
They are in fourth place in the table but most importantly just two points behind second-placed Milan. Inter are unbeaten in their last 25 league matches against promoted sides; winning 22 matches. After an inconsistent start to the season, Inter have not only secured a spot in the last 16 of the Champions League but have gained more points in Serie A or scored more goals over the past eight matches . However, they have conceded at least one goal in each of their last 12 away games which subsequently the club’s worst such run since the late 80s. They have four losses and 18 goals conceded before the World Cup break which is a worrying sign for Inzaghi’s side.
Monza possible starting lineup:
Di Gregorio; Marlon, Mari, Izzo; Ciurria, Pessina, Ranocchia, Augusto; Colpani, Caprari; Mota
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Onana; Skriniar, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Dzeko, Lukaku
Also read: Manchester United knockout Everton from the FA Cup at Old Trafford
