José Mourinho will look to stop Inter in Round 34. Roma will try to dent the opponent’s title ambitions and put pressure on Juventus for the 4th spot. Both sides tied in the previous matchday, and the gap stayed at five points.
As Tuttomercatoweb points out, the Giallorossi had not been this close to qualifying for the Champions League at this juncture of the season since 2019. Claudio Ranieri was at the helm at the time, but they finished sixth, three points below the Nerazzurri. Paulo Fonseca never got too close in the last two campaigns. They were at -12 in 2019-2022 and -11 in the most recent one.
Mourinho will have to overcome a personal taboo in the Inter game. He always lost in the recent trips to San Siro following his Serie A return. Milan defeated Roma in league play, while the Nerazzurri came out on top in Coppa Italia. However, the Giallorossi went on a run after such negative result. Over their last 13 matches, they were topped only once by Bodo/Glimt, but they remedied in the return leg.
The Special One vehemently confronted his players after the previous bout with his old team, saying they should move to Serie C if they were afraid of big-ticket fixtures. Roma will not have Nicolò Zaniolo due to a suspension Saturday. Arturo Vidal will be out due to an ankle sprain for the opponents. Mourinho will not hold a pre-game presser before facing Inter in order not to fuel controversies and focus on the contest.