Serie A: It's a Six-Pointer for the Final Champions League Spot!

AS Roma vs AC Milan

There’s probably no way either Roma or Milan can catch up to Juventus or Napoli at this point of the Serie A season, so the neutral fan may not see this fixture between two Italian football giants as appealing at the slightest.

However, this game has a more important implication than it being just another six-pointer between two top sides. The top three slots are pretty much secured at this point, meaning that there’s only one Champions League slot available to play for.

Milan currently have that spot at 35 points. Roma are just behind at 34. There are seven other teams that can realistically compete for the remaining Champions League spot. This means that putting separation between themselves and the rest of the competition is of the utmost priority for both teams.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a big game at the Stadio Olimpico as both teams have good reason to fight for the three points. It will come down to the matter of who wants it more.

Talking Points

An Important Affair for I Giallorossi

Roma slipped a bit as they are now out of the Champions League spots, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that they are still a strong footballing outfit that deserves respect from Serie A 2019 odds.

They still manage to compete for the Champions League places thanks to the nine victories they have snatched in the 21 games they have played so far this season. They don’t have any problem when it comes to goals as they have bagged 40, the third-most goals in the Italian top flight.

However, their problems lie on the defensive end of the pitch. They tend to struggle to pull off victories against teams stronger or on their level. Their narrow defeat to Juventus in December and their tough draw against Napoli in October are evidence of their struggles.

They also tend to lose against teams that they should be taking care of with ease. Roma fans this season endured the humiliation of losing points to Bologna, SPAL, and Udinese. However, their embarrassing 7-1 meltdown against Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia is their most painful to date.

Of course, fans can expect goals from their attacking unit. Stephan El Shaarawy, Aleksandar Kolarov, and Edin Dzeko will be more than able to bring in the goals. However, Kolarov must motivate the backline to be tighter at the back and prevent another collapse from happening at the back.

No way to go but up for Milan

AC Milan have spent the past couple of years being the Serie A’s laughingstock. They were the fallen giants who cannot even figure what they must do in order to compete again.

It seems that they finally found how to win this season under Gennaro Gattuso. I Rossoneri are making the headlines of Serie A 2019 news pages for all the right reasons. They are showing signs of good football once again and are within firing range of city rivals Internazionale.

They played a very good game against Napoli last week despite the result being a scoreless draw. They have churned out a good number of wins despite many of those ending closer than they should have been. This Milan team is far from perfect, but Gattuso is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Suso is all set to lead AC Milan in beating AS Roma in their upcoming Serie A match — AC Milan star Suso battles for the ball against Napoli’s Lorenzo Insigne

They also have a number of exciting players to get behind. Kryzstof Piatek is a player that fans are looking forward to seeing perform well for I Rossoneri. Suso is an important component of the team’s attack, leading Milan in points and assists. Moreover, Gattuso is also looking to bring Tiemoue Bakayoko on a permanent contract.

These are exciting times for the red half of Milan, and the atmosphere should only grow if they manage to take down Roma at their own stomping grounds.

History

These two teams have faced each other 53 times since 1996, and the two are evenly matched. Both sides have won 18 games each, and the remaining seventeen fixtures ended in draws. Each side has won two of the last four games they played, though the latest instalment of the head-to-head saw Milan saw Patrick Cutrone pull through for Milan.

Their last three games also tell of an encouraging picture for the Rossoneri: Roma barely scraped past Torino before drawing against Atalanta and suffering through that Coppa game against Fiorentina. Meanwhile, Milan won by two goals over Genoa and drew with Napoli in the league. However, they managed to get Gli Azzurri‘s number in the Coppa game.

Betting Tip

	AS Roma vs AC Milan	AC Milan 1X2 @ 3.25
	February 4, 03:30 (GMT+8)

I think this game can go in any direction. With the Stadio Olimpico crowd backing them up, there’s little to no reason to see Eusebio Di Francesco’s lads playing with a little more eagerness in their step and take this six-pointer for themselves.

However, it’s simply hard to discount the fact that Milan took down a strong team like Napoli in the Coppa Italia while managing to keep them goalless in the league just a few days prior. Milan are at the top of their game at the moment, and I sincerely believe that they have what it takes to win the game in style. SBOBET fans should not hesitate to put all of their eggs in Milan’s basket.

In terms of my take on the final score, I see another 2-1 victory in favour of Milan. Suso, Cutrone or Piatek will be the scorer of the winning goal after Roma put up an admirable resistance in the second half.