The top 4 race in the Serie A continues to heat up as we have a huge clash between two of the teams involved in it as Inter Milan host Roma at San Siro!
Currently looking at the table, with 6 games to go Inter are in a very good position sitting 3rd in the league 6 points clear of currently 5th placed Roma who are 1 point off 4th place. A win for Inter would pretty much all but seal a top 4 spot assuming they take care of business after meanwhile for Roma, a win could potentially move up back into the top 4 if AC Milan were to drop points in their game against Parma, however a loss could really complicate things for them.
Inter Milan have seemingly started to play some decent football after being inconsistent for the first few months of 2019. After a tough few months, Inter have looked good in their last 3 games winning 2 while drawing the other against a good Atalanta side. In the two wins from this stretch Inter bagged 7 goals and they’re coming off an impressive away win at Frosinone 1-3.
Meanwhile, Roma have also started to pick it up again after playing some inconsistent football, Roma have gone unbeaten in each of their last 3 also winning 2 of those games which was their last 2 games against Sampdoria and Udinese bagging 1-0 wins in both games. An improvement defensively in these two games have essentially helped Roma to stay in the top 4 race as they kept back to back clean sheets.
Inter have actually been a little off at home recently however as most of their good performances in the recent stretch have been away from home strangely. Inter have gone winless in each of their last 3 home games losing to Frankfurt and Lazio while drawing Atalanta and they have been held scoreless in each of these last 3 games at San Siro. Inter have overall been a decent home side in Serie A, however their record has gotten worse due to the recent stretch which now stands at 9W 3D 3L. Inter do still have the best defensive record at San Siro with just 7 goals conceded, however goal scoring has been an issue as they only scored 21 at home in the league.
Inter have not had much success against the top 7 lately at home either. They beat AC Milan and Napoli in the first half of the season here, however since that they dropped a game to Lazio in the Cup here and also lost to them in the league here while also drawing Atalanta 0-0. Inter’s home games against the top sides have been very low scoring as neither of those games have had 3 goals.
Roma haven’t really been a great away side this season with only 6 league wins from 15 on their travels. Roma have been extremely inconsistent on their travels this year although they have improved recently having won 3 of their last 5 away games in Serie A including winning their last one against Sampdoria so that can definitely be used as a positive sign. Roma have really struggled in big away games as they are yet to beat any top 7 side away from home losing to Lazio and Juventus while drawing with Napoli and Atalanta picking up just 2 pts from 12 against the top sides on their travels so far this season.
Mauro Icardi is the man to watch for Inter. 10 goals in the Serie A which is clubs best this season despite missing a couple months of action. Since returning Icardi scored 1 goal in his 3 apps. Icardi is still the man for Inter for a game like this however as Mauro has been their most trustworthy player in big games like these. Icardi has scored against AC Milan, 3x vs Lazio and bagged a goal against Roma last week plus if you were to look at other competitions he also scored against Barcelona and Tottenham in Europe so the fact that he’s a top scorer and he tends to score in big games, there really isn’t anyone other than Icardi to mention as the bigger key for Inter.
Edin Dzeko is the man to watch for Roma. Only 8 goals this season, however his experience in games like these is what makes him very dangerous. Dzeko has had quite a few good performances in big games for Roma since joining the club plus he’s coming off a game where he scored the winner in a 1-0 win against Udinese which should give him confidence entering this game. Dzeko is always a threat to score goals.
The reverse fixture was an entertaining one as Roma drew 2-2 with Inter at home. Inter took the lead twice in that game however Roma were resilient and brought it back both times to split the points with their opponent.
Looking at recent H2H at San Siro, Roma have been able to pick up points against Inter in each of their last 2 travels beating them 1-3 in 16-17 and picking up a 1-1 draw here last season.
Inter are tipped bookies favourites to win this game at 1.78, whereas Roma are the underdog at 4.40 with Draw offered at 3.75. Odds are based on Unibet.
Team News
Inter Milan: Sime Vrsaljko and Marcelo Brozovic are both out with injuries for this game.
AS Roma: Davide Santon and Rick Karsdop are out for the visitors and could be out for some longer time not just this game.
Betting Stats
Inter have covered just 26.7% of their total goal overs at home in the league this season which is the worst percentage in the Serie A (4-1-10).
Inter have also covered league’s worst 13.3% of their 1st half total goal overs at home this season (2-2-11).
Inter average 1.67 bookings per game at home in the Serie A this season (25 bookings in 15 games).
Inter have 4 tied top scorers at home in the Serie A this season in Icardi, Gagliardini, Politano and Martinez who all have 3 goals at home in the league each.
Inter have covered 40% of their Handicaps at home in the league this season (6-2-7).
Inter have covered 33.3% of their 1st half Handicaps at home in the league this season (5-3-7).
Roma have covered 43.8% of their total goal overs away from home in the league this season (7-9).
Roma have covered 25% of their 1st half total goal overs away from home in the league this season (4-5-7).
Roma average 2.69 bookings per game away from home in the league this season (43 bookings in 16 games).
Edin Dzeko is Roma’s top scorer away from home with 7 away league goals. 87.5% of his total league goals have come away from home (7/8).
Roma have covered 37.5% of their Handicaps away from home in the league this season (6-4-6).
Roma have covered 37.5% of their 1st half Handicaps away from home in the league this season (6-1-9).
KICK OFF – 20th April 2019 – 7:30pm UK Time
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