Roma and AC Milan are locked on 56 points in the Serie A table ahead of their crucial showdown at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.
Fourth-placed Milan lead fifth-placed Roma thanks to their superior offensive record, although both sides find themselves three points behind third-placed Juventus.
Saturday’s clash looks destined to have a big say on the outcome of the top-four race, so both teams will be eager to avoid defeat in the capital.
Let's start by looking at the hosts, Roma, who suffered a 3-1 defeat to Atalanta on Monday, despite enjoying 64% possession in Bergamo.
Remarkably, Lorenzo Pellegrini scored with Roma’s only shot on target, while Atalanta netted three goals from four attempts on target.
When you look at the bigger picture, though, Jose Mourinho’s men have won three of their last four Serie A games, with nine victories coming in their previous 16.
Roma have also enjoyed plenty of success at the Stadio Olimpico in recent times, winning seven of their last eight home league games while keeping seven clean sheets.
Meanwhile, AC Milan claimed a 2-0 victory over Lecce last time out, with Rafael Leao bagging a brace at the San Siro.
Leao has now bagged 13 goals and 12 assists across all competitions, including 12 goals and seven assists in 29 Serie A appearances.
AC Milan head into Saturday’s showdown on a six-game unbeaten run in all competitions, having picked up three wins and three draws since their last loss.
Having lost just two of their previous 14 matches – recording seven wins and five draws along the way – Milan will fancy their chances of halting Roma’s impressive run on home soil.
Head-to-head: Roma and Milan played out a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture back in January, extending Roma’s winless run in this fixture to six matches.
It is also worth noting that both teams have scored in eight of the last nine league meetings between the teams, so we shouldn’t be starved of action this time around.
Team news: Roma’s injury list contains the key quartet of Paulo Dybala, Chris Smalling, Diego Llorente and Georginio Wijnaldum.
As for AC Milan, they look set to be without the injured duo of Olivier Giroud and Tommaso Pobega for the foreseeable future.
Not only will both teams be eager to avoid defeat for their own top-four bids, but they will also be keen to prevent another rival from picking up three points.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Roma and AC Milan will play out a low-scoring draw at the Stadio Olimpico.