Roma could lose ugly vs. Fiorentina
Roma were able to get the three points they needed at mid-week by grinding out a 1-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv, but given their lone goal was an Artem Dovbyk spot kick, the Giallorossi did little to convince their doubters that they are on the right track.
Last weekend, Roma lost their second game of the Serie A season against reigning champions Inter Milan 1-0, which doesn’t sound like that bad of a result until you realize the Giallorossi have also only won two games and sit 10th in the league after 8 matches played.
Look, Roma can cycle through as many managers as they want to, but the reality is they have a poorly constructed squad and one of the worst ownership groups in the entire league.
Roma have managed to score only eight goals in eight games this season, and there is only one team outside of the relegation places that has scored fewer goals than that.
Meanwhile, Fiorentina just smashed six past Lecce and are fifth in the table, one point behind AC Milan. Whereas Roma are struggling to find the back of the net or get enough width in their play, Fiorentina are playing some of the most expansive and exciting attacking football in Serie A, which figures to only get better after the supremely gifted Andrea Colpani posted a massive breakout game on Matchday 8.
So on Sunday night at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, things could get ugly for Roma, as their sagging attack faces a very much lively Fiorentina one. Maybe Roma can make this a statement game, but with the Viola winners of three straight and maximizing a squad of forgotten talents like Dodo, Danilo Cataldi, Robin Gosens, Moise Kean, and even David freaking de Gea, I have a hard time seeing a Roma side whose only plan is “Feed Dovbyk” getting even a point here.
It might honestly be better, in a post-Jose Mourinho world, for things to get ugly for Roma before they get better.
AC Milan have a ‘barometer game’ against Bologna
AC Milan are still holding onto a Champions League place, but there are a handful of teams who sit just one point behind them in the Serie A table, with nothing materially changing since the 2023/24 campaign.
A poor offseason that included the quizzical appointment of Paulo Fonseca and insufficient defensive reinforcements has left Milan falling behind by virtue of the improvements Juventus and Napoli made, potentially through hiring Thiago Motta and Antonio Conte alone.
Milan were able to beat Club Bruges in the Champions League this week 3-1, but it was hardly a convincing display. And as Milan play more games, it’s becoming clearer that this team is reliant on Christian Pulisic conjuring up magic, to the point where you worry what would become of the Rossoneri if something were to happen to the American winger.
On Saturday evening, Milan will hit the road to face 2023/24 darling side Bologna, who have predictably slipped to 12th in the table but do remain dangerous with a new crop of breakout stars like striker Santiago Castro.
Milan are far from impenetrable defensively, meaning they are vulnerable to explosive breakout stars like Castro running them ragged, and if the “good” Riccardo Orsolini shows up this weekend, the Rossoneri could really be in trouble.
But when you stack up the talent of both squad head to head, Milan really should be winning this game by multiple goals. After barely surviving Udinese’s threat after going down to 10 men, Milan need to show a more complete display against Bologna.
The Rossoblu are somewhere between the teams Milan have beaten recently and the ones they have lost to, like Bayer Leverkusen and Fiorentina, making them a good test on the road.
If Milan can’t win this game in professional fashion, you have to start asking more questions about Fonseca than Rafael Leao, Theo Hernandez, or any other big-name player the former Lille and Roma coach wants to conveniently scapegoat.
Milan need to start living by the mantra that they win and lose as a team, because the core values of the club have been lost since the distasteful ousting of Paolo Maldini, and you can see it in the rot of how they play and how little resiliency or responsibility they show.
Bologna isn’t a “barometer” game because of the caliber of opponent, specifically, but rather because a road match against a decent Serie A side that plays with heart is exactly the kind of match that can assess in which direction the winds at the San Siro are blowing.
How Juventus can exploit Inter Milan
Although there are a number of intriguing matches on this weekend’s Serie A slate, they all seem insignificant in comparison to the 2024/25 season’s first Derby d’Italia, which truly feels like it will amount to a title-decider when the season is done.
Unlike last year, when the first derby was billed as a season-decider only for Inter to win the Scudetto by around 20 points, Juventus have more ammunition to mount a serious title challenge against the 2023 Champions League Finalists.
For starters, Juve have surrendered just one goal in eight games, an even more impressive defensive showing from last year’s under Max Allegri. Even with Gleison Bremer out for the season, there are not many cracks in the Bianconeri armor.
However, with 11 goals scored, Juve still have a point to prove offensively, as they showed up listless at mid-week in a 1-0 loss to Stuttgart, which was only close due to the heroics of goalkeeper Mattia Perin.
Inter Milan are unmistakably the favorites despite their own flaws, but this game should still be a toss-up. Juventus and coach Motta must take an especially close look at Inter’s suspect transition defending through the middle.
Dusan Vlahovic has failed to impress in a number of big games this season, and there is no bigger game from a Bianconeri perspective than a Derby d’Italia at the Giuseppe Meazza.
The Serbian international was anonymous against Stuttgart, and a repeat cannot happen on Sunday in Milano. Juve are too reliant on Vlahovic for that, as he has as many goals as the rest of his teammates combined; he is the only player on Juventus with more than one goal scored in Serie A this season.
What Juventus need to do is play their cards right. Pack the midfield and run harder than they ever thought they could. Stay organized, block every passing lane, and when Teun Koopmeiners, Manuel Locatelli, or Nicolo Fagioli get the ball, play forward as quickly as possible.
Juventus need to be killers in transition, ruthlessly progressing the ball either forward or in a more central area. They need to think like the Ralf Rangnick style of countering and use Vlahovic as their reference point, because he is the one player with the trusted quality to finish.
It’s easy to point the finger at Vlahovic’s goal-scoring record in big matches as being his problem solely, but we all know that isn’t true. A lot of it has been the problem of the entire team’s execution in delivering him quality chances that he doesn’t have to snatch at.
Inter Milan may have the best midfield in Serie A, but after adding Koopmeiners from Atalanta, Juve’s isn’t far off either. Fagioli is a young man who received an endorsement from Cristiano Ronaldo, and, like Koopmeiners, Locatelli was a titan at a Serie A favorite and one of the best in the league before moving to Turin.
Those three guys need to lead the way from an intensity and playmaking perspective, and Vlahovic needs to make sure he takes up the right positions. He may only get one to three solid chances in the derby, and if Juve can give him three instead of one, he can find the killer blow Juve need to win a game that, from a Bianconeri perspective, will hopefully be that sort of an ugly 1-0 rivalry encounter at the Giuseppe Meazza.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.