Roma tries again after the success at San Siro against Milan. The Rossoneri's 2nd at 2,42
At stake is access to the semi-finals of the Europa League. And it's already the eve of match two between Roma and Milan on the pitch on Thursday 18 April at 21pm at the Olympic Stadium, an unprecedented match between the two teams in a continental competition. The Giallorossi, thanks to the 1-0 win at San Siro with Mancini's goal, have two results out of three available to reach the semi-finals, where they would find the winner between Bayer Leverkusen and West Ham. The Rossoneri, on the other hand, are called upon to win with a margin of more than two goals: in the event of a 0-1 draw for Milan (or any victory by one goal) they will go to extra time.
The two teams return to the field after last Sunday's championship bracket. The Giallorossi are returning from the trip to Udine, where they did not finish the match due to the illness of defender Evan N'Dicka, the French footballer who is a naturalized Ivorian, who went off on a stretcher in the 71st minute, causing people to fear the worst. After the investigations of the case he was discharged from the hospital where he was found to have a "compatible clinical picture for chest trauma with minimal left pneumothorax". The match, which will therefore have to be restarted on a date to be established, will restart from 1-1, goal by Pereyra in the 23rd minute and Lukaku (in the photo) in the 64th minute, with still eighteen minutes more injury time to play. Milan, however, left behind the proud 3-3 comeback with Sassuolo thanks to goals from Leao, Jovic and Okafor. In their football history the two teams have met 178 times with the Milanese victorious 79 times, compared to the 46 successes of the Romans who also drew 53 times. In the league this season both matches were won by Stefano Pioli's team: in Rome 2-1, with goals from Giroud and Leao, in Milan 3-1 scored by Adli, Giroud and Theo Hernandez again.
De Rossi should send out the same line-up as in game one with the exception of Cristante, disqualified due to a warning after the yellow card he received in Milan. Svilar will return between the posts, Celik and Spinazzola will be the two full-backs, while Mancini and Smalling will pair up in central defence. As for the midfield, Bove or Aouar will join Paredes and Pellegrini, with the Italian expected to prevail on the Algerian wing. The trident of El Shaarawy, Lukaku and Dybala confirmed with flying colors in attack, with the former acting on the right lane after the excellent performance at San Siro.
Good news for Stefano Pioli who for the occasion recovers Tomori in a light defense this season due to the 55 goals conceded in 45 games. With a rearguard that doesn't offer many guarantees, unlike an attack to be feared, and with defeat and a goal to recover, he will probably send out a more offensive team than usual: Chukwueze and Leao on the flanks with Pulisic behind Giroud, or Pulisic and Leao on the flanks with Giroud and Jovic. Behind them are Reijnders, Adli or Bennacer with Loftus-Cheek who should sit on the bench after the less than reassuring recent performances.
It's an almost triple match for the BetFlag analysts who bank the 1 Giallorossi at 2,80 not far from the 2 Rossoneri at 2,42 and with the X multiplying by 3,45. The special ranking of the probable first or last scorer of the regular time of the match this time sees Lukaku and Giroud at the top at 7,00, followed by Jovic at 8,00, Dybala and Leao at 8,25, Abraham at 8,50, Pulisic and Okafor at 9,00, Loftus-Cheek at 9,50, Azmoun at 9,75 and gradually all the others with Kardsdorp closing at 46,00.
