Roma will play hosts to Inter Milan this weekend as two of Italy’s giants meet once more in what will be Jose Mourinho’s first league clash against the reigning champions of Italy for the first time since departing the club over a decade ago.
Mourinho is the first and only man to ever win a treble with an Italian side as he conquered the Coppa Italia, Serie A and the Champions League with the Milan side back in 2009/10.
It remains arguably Italy’s most successful feat and prior to winning the title last season under Antonio Conte, it was the only time Inter have won Serie A in the past 11 years.
Now, the ex-Manchester United boss welcomes them to the Stadio Olimpico as the Roma head coach and now has the chance to derail Inter’s title defence with also the chance to narrow the gap on the top four too.
It’s arguably Roma’s biggest game of the season in that regard. Napoli will also meet with Atalanta this weekend, where points are expected to be dropped for the Bergamo side meaning this game could see the Rome outfit move within three points of the top four if all results go their way.
Roma have seen their form slip recently after a brilliant run, as they lost 1-0 to the in-form Bologna away from home which also saw them close the gap on the Rome side too.
However, wins over Genoa and Torino have ensured they stay inside the top five during December, but a defeat here and things could go against them and drop even further away from the top four.
What has been Roma's standout this time around is their vastly improved defence as they have conceded the third-least number of goals in the top flight so far, as Mourinho's tactics are being felt throughout the Stadio Olimpico.
These 16 goals let in is just one more than Inter’s 15, while it’s the same as Juventus and fewer than AC Milan’s 18, which clearly proves the ex-Spurs boss is having quite the impact right now in Rome.
As for goals, the likes of Stephan El Shaarawy, Lorenzo Pellegrini, and Tammy Abraham are all contributing well as the ex-Chelsea striker now leads the way as the top scorer with eight goals.
However, Inter seem just too strong right now and their league-high 36 goals scored here is likely to reign supreme and Forebet predicts they will win in a game that sees under 2.5 goals.