Milan-Roma KO 17:00 BT Sport 2
Roma travel to San Siro in this weekend’s standout fixture in Serie A, with Milan under increasing pressure to perform. The Rossoneri left it extremely late to win 3-2 over Rijeka in the Europa League on Thursday evening and have lost two of their opening six league fixtures. Reports in Italy have already suggested that Coach Vincenzo Montella will not be given long to prove that he can glean the necessary results from a rebuilt squad that cost €230 million this summer and after several experiments he confirmed that 3-5-2 would be his formation of choice going forward.
“I feel the air of a turning point,” the former Roma striker told the press in his pre-match comments. “The team is shaking off its mental block and anxiety. I really liked the reaction after we went on 2-2 with Rijeka and would love that attitude for the full 95 minutes.”
His Giallorossi counterpart is Eusebio Di Francesco – his former team-mate in the capital – but there will be no love lost between the friends during the 90 minutes. “Montella is really like a brother to me because of all we’ve been through together, not just at Roma, but also when we were kids at Empoli,” the Roma boss said. “We grew up in difficulty, when we didn’t have the money to buy a shirt, so I can assure you there are real friends in this sport and Vincenzo is one of them.”
The capital club tactician is facing somewhat of an injury crisis ahead of the important clash, with forwards Diego Perotti and Gregoire Defrel both ruled out. La Gazzetta dello Sport has reported that Di Francesco may opt to play right-back Alessandro Florenzi as part of the front three in his regular 4-3-3 system, a bold move considering the Italian international has only just returned from back-to-back cruciate ligament injuries.
Atalanta-Juve KO 19:45 BT Sport 1
Atalanta host unbeaten Juventus on Sunday evening, fresh from successes in their opening two fixtures in the Europa League group stages. La Dea surprised everyone by securing a win and a draw against Everton and Lyon respectively, with striker Alejandro “Papu” Gomez having fired in a stunning strike in each fixture.
Lyon star Nabil Fekir admitted he had “never heard” of the Atalanta forward in his pre-match press conference, but he certainly found out all about him during last Thursday’s encounter.
Atalanta captain Alejandro Gomez rifles in a screamer to double their lead over Everton 💥
“It’s important for me, because I am a player who hasn’t had much European experience, so it’s understandable some might not know me well.” Gomez told reporters after the 1-1 draw at the Groupama stadium. “After tonight, a few more will know who I am.”
There will be no such issues for Juventus boss Max Allegri, who knows all-too-well what the Bergamo outfit are capable of after a tough fixture at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia last term. Gian Piero Gasperini’s men pushed the eventual league winners all the way in that fixture, Remo Freuler’s 89th minute equaliser securing a point for the home side.
“It’s a very difficult match tomorrow, as Atalanta run hard,” Allegri told reporters in his pre-match press conference. “They are going through a great period of form and it wasn’t easy for a side with no international experience to earn a draw away to Olympique Lyonnais. The games are never over in Bergamo. Don’t forget last season we thought it was done and we conceded to make it 2-2. If we don’t win, then we’ll be in a bad mood throughout the break for international duty.”
His veteran counterpart insists that the underdogs must “ride the wave of enthusiasm” created by their Europa League success, a tactic that brought about the results that got them to the competition in the very first place last season.
