AS Roma-Inter Milan: Scudetto Glory at Stake

It’s never been about the chaotic South rising against the industrial North. It’s never been about the clashing colors of the vivid Giallorossi and the more fashionable Nerazzurri. Nor has it ever been about the two sets of styles where romantic brushes against the madness.

No, when AS Roma and Inter Milan get down and dirty it’s purely about business.

The Romans have been the sole threat to the Milanese’s supremacy ever since the infamous Calciopoli scandal. On Saturday evening the two sides will meet again, and the Eternal City will serve as the perfect backdrop to what has come to be one of Italy’s most fiery encounters over the past couple of seasons.

José Mourinho’s machinery has exposed a few cracks, whereas the former Juventus reject, Claudio Ranieri, has taken his men on a 20-game unbeaten run. As the campaign enters its final stretch, the Giallorossi are once again the team that has come to pose the most genuine threat to the Nerazzurri’s title aspirations.

AS Roma

Ranieri’s men have returned back to their winning ways after three consecutive draws against Napoli, Milan, and Livorno. The midweek victory away at Bologna saw Roma move within four points of league leaders Inter, and they currently rest in joint-second place with AC Milan, who dropped three valuable points at the Tardini against Parma.

The Giallorossi are currently on a spectacular 20-game unbeaten run, and haven’t succumbed to a defeat since Udinese proved too strong at the Friuli back in October. The Eternal City is buzzing with renowned hope of lifting the club’s fourth Scudetto, but Ranieri is doing the best he can to remove the pressure from his own men.

“What do we have to lose? We don’t have the Scudetto shield on our jerseys like Inter’s players. Why should we feel pressure on our shoulders?” Ranieri insisted at the press conference.

Francesco Totti will be on the bench, but has warned that he still has a long way to go in his recovery process. In any case, there shouldn’t be any worries in terms of goals, as both Jeremy Menez and Mirko Vucinic have proven quite useful as of late.

Inter Milan

Inter Milan collected their first victory in four league games on Wednesday evening, courtesy of Maicon and Samuel Eto’o’s spectacular brace. Despite the 3-0 score line against Livorno, the relegation candidates managed to give the home side quite a few scares.

The pressure of fighting on three fronts is clearly taking its toll on the squad. While things have gone splendidly in the Champions League—where the Italian champions disposed of Premier League outfit Chelsea—things haven’t quite gone as planned in the domestic games.

Mario Balotelli is still frozen out of the squad after yet another reported training ground bust-up with Mourinho. However, with Eto’o returning to the score sheet, the young starlet’s absence may go unnoticed—at least on the pitch.

The last time the two giants clashed at the Stadio Olimpico the fixture ended in a crushing 4-0 defeat for the Romans. More than a year has passed since that stinging loss, and the circumstances surrounding tonight’s grand fixture couldn’t be more different.