Roma vs AC Milan Betting Preview Serie A Matchday Three

Serie A matchday three begins on Friday, September 1st with a tantalizing affair between two storied clubs in the Italian top flight as Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma plays host to AC Milan at the iconic Stadio Olimpico in Rome. The kick-off is scheduled for 2:45 PM ET. Roma is looking for their very first win here after a rough start to the campaign, while the Rossoneri have a pair of victories thus far with their new-look squad. Below, we’ll dive into the match preview.

Head-to-Head History

There wasn’t much to separate these two sides last term. Both meetings ended level by 2-2 and 1-1 scorelines. In the 2021-22 campaign, however, Milan won back-to-back games against Roma. Out of their 22 all-time wins versus the Giallorossi, Milan has won 14 times at the Stadio Olimpico. That certainly bodes well for what could happen on Friday. Roma on the other hand has 19 victories in total in this matchup.

Milan Flying High

The 2021-22 Scudetto winners were extremely active in the summer transfer window, bringing in a boatload of players including Christian Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek from Chelsea. Captain America, in particular, has been absolutely thriving since arriving in Italy, too. Pulisic has hit the back of the net in both Serie A outings while playing all but 27 minutes. Olivier Giroud is leading the way with three goals and doesn’t seem to be losing his step despite now being 36.

Pulisic > Loftus-Cheek > Pulisic 💥

Chelsea boys making impact for AC Milanpic.twitter.com/RgLHz5ilLP

— Chelsea Pal 🦁 (@cfcPal) August 27, 2023

Stefano Pioli’s men notched a 2-0 victory over Bologna in the season opener on the road before returning home last Saturday and putting on an attacking display at the San Siro, throttling Torino 4-1. Pulisic opened the scoring in the first half before the visitors equalized shortly after, but after that, it was all Milan. Giroud netted from the spot just minutes prior to halftime and then Theo Hernandez added another in injury time of the first period. Giroud bagged another from the penalty spot in the second half as well. But regardless of how much better their form is than Roma, the Rossoneri sit at just +165 odds at 888sport.

Roma Needs a Result

After a disappointing sixth-place finish in 2022-23, Roma isn’t exactly thriving through the first two weeks. Matchday one was a gritty draw with Salernitana thanks to Andrea Belotti’s brace. Then last weekend, Mourinho’s men couldn’t overcome Verona, despite the hosts getting a red card in the 84th minute. By halftime, Roma was down two goals and could never really recover. Houssem Aouar cut the head in half early in the second period but the visitors weren’t able to find another.

Roma have reached a deal with Chelsea to sign Romelu Lukaku on a season-long loan for a fee of $6M, reports @Matt_Law_DT

Reunited 🤝 pic.twitter.com/soFf7oe4Pb

— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 28, 2023

On a more positive note, attacking help is on its way as Roma just recently agreed to a loan deal for Chelsea outcast Romelu Lukaku, who played at Inter last season. He previously played under Mourinho at Manchester United so there is some familiarity. It’s unlikely he will start considering Belotti and Paulo Dybala appear to be the first choices up top, but it’s another option for Mourinho. Roma’s last win against Milan came way back in 2019 at the Stadio Olimpico and hopefully, a similar result can be in the cards here. Needless to say, they need it badly and most soccer betting sites are giving them a respectable chance.