Roma get another attempt at winning a big match when they take on AC Milan on Sunday.
Games of this stature were a notorious sticking point for Paulo Fonseca and there haven’t been many signs of change yet under Jose Mourinho, emphasising that despite his vastly superior reputation, this is a project that will take time.
Expectations remain somewhat smaller for the time being, but Roma will be hoping to see a competitive display against a side they are already nine points behind in the Serie A table.
One key battle will be that between Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori. Having risen through the ranks together at Chelsea, they will now be lining up on opposite sides in Italy. Given their positions, they will be going toe to toe.
Abraham has lost a bit of form recently, the general perception is, meaning a goal could help send a reminder of the initial impact he had at the club.
Someone who could help in that regard is ex-Milan winger Stephan El Shaarawy. He has started the season with a bit more rhythm and some believe he could take Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s place in the starting lineup due to the Armenian becoming less effective recently.
Mourinho said at his pre-match press conference that he is counting on both of them, but that the lineup would not be an unchanged one.
Overall, though, Mourinho is unlikely to make many changes, having made it clear which players he trusts and which he doesn’t. He confirmed the squad will be largely the same as the most recent match, meaning some of those disappointing him are still on the sidelines.
He will need to find ones capable of getting the job done against an opponent Roma haven’t beaten since 2019.
The game kicks off at 7:45pm UK time and will be live on BT Sport 1.
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