Serie A: Can Jose Mourinho Get the Monkey Off His Back at San Siro?

Inter Milan vs AS Roma

The fixture between Inter Milan and AS Roma is certainly one of the top Serie A encounters to look forward to following the first international break of the 2022-23 season.

My SBOTOP colleague rightfully pointed this out since Jose Mourinho returns to San Siro for the third time this calendar year.

However, the Special One won’t be on the touchline for AS Roma as he’ll be serving a one-match ban after he took his complaints too far when his side wasn’t given a penalty during their 1-0 loss against Atalanta a fortnight ago.

Meanwhile, Mourinho’s former employers Inter Milan are also fresh from a tough loss against Udinese.

I Giallorossi and I Nerazzurri are placed sixth and seventh at the table respectively, so they’ll need three points from this fixture in order to re-assert their top four credentials.

Talking Points

Inter Milan struggling without Romelu Lukaku

I Nerazzurri came close to winning back-to-back Scudettos last season, but they eventually lost to city rivals AC Milan.

This year, they’ve bolstered their attack by bringing back Romelu Lukaku on loan from Chelsea. But the Belgian hitman –a key contributor to their title run – hasn’t played for over a month now due to a muscular injury.

Lukaku is ruled out for the showdown at San Siro, so Simone Inzaghi will be relying on the front duo of Lautaro Martinez and Edin Dzeko, while Nicolo Barella, Joaquin Correa, Denzel Dumfries, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan will also share the attacking responsibilities and Serie A 2022 highlights.

Other than Lukaku, midfield lynchpin Marcelo Brozovic will also have to sit this one out since he’s suspended for one game.

Lautaro Martinez is the team’s leading scorer with three goals and one assist but he has failed to score in their last five fixtures across all competitions. Look for him to be aggressive as he’s out to end his mini-slump.

Hakan Calhanoglu is another player who’s looking to regain his form. The former AC Milan standout has been recovering from a strained thigh over the past couple of weeks and he only has one goal so far this term.

Paulo Dybala’s return is huge for AS Roma

On the other hand, AS Roma were given a huge fitness boost during the international break.

After injuring himself in the warm up before the match against Atalanta, Paulo Dybala is now good to go and he’ll be joined by the likes of Lorenzo Pellegrini and Stephan El Shaarawy.

The Argentine centre-forward has been their main source of goals thus far with four and he also has two assists. Behind him is Tammy Abraham who has two goals.

Their returns allows Jose Mourinho to rotate his lineups during the upcoming stretch of fixtures with short turnarounds. For this month, I Giallorossi will compete in eight total games – three in the Europa League and five in Serie A.

Needless to say that October will be big for AS Roma since they’ll get to show everybody what they’re made of. Jose Mourinho certainly has his hands full in trying to bring home another trophy for Rome.

History

Inter Milan have AS Roma’s number here in Serie A since they have won more league games (W75) and scored more goals (290) against them more than any other opponent in their history.

They are also undefeated in their last 10 Serie A matches against I Giallorossi (W4, D6) and they’re two games away from matching their longest unbeaten streak back between 1935 and 1941.

AS Roma’s last league victory over Inter Milan was a 3-1 result back in February 2017.

I Nerazzurri are unbeaten in their last seven home league matches, securing four clean sheets in that stretch. Their last home league defeat was a 2-0 result versus Sassuolo back in February.

Betting Tip

Since they’re playing at home, Inter Milan are favoured by the Serie A 2022 odds to win. I Nerazzurri are installed at 2.07, while AS Roma are priced at 3.45 and chances for a draw are at 3.40 in the 1X2 market.

This is definitely going to be a tight encounter, but we’ll give the hosts the slight advantage since they’ve yet to lose a home league match so far this season.

While they’ve already scored a bunch of goals, Inter Milan have also conceded a ton so Simone Inzaghi will be keen on tightening up their defence. The same goes for Jose Mourinho’s side, making Under 2.50 @ 1.80 a bet worth considering.

 

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