Inter vs AS Roma prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-10-28 17:00.
Having probably made harder work of it than they needed to, Inter Milan will have been relieved to have emerged victorious against RB Salzburg (2-1) in midweek UEFA Champions League action. It’s a quick turnaround for the visit of Roma, where the overriding sub-plot to this game is Romelu Lukaku’s return to Inter, but boss Simone Inzaghi insists he is “not on our minds”, as he claims his focus is on ensuring his side recover mentally and physically from their midweek exploits.
That’s something they’ve been able to do with relative success so far this season, following up their two prior European outings with a Serie A (SA) win and a draw respectively. They’ve got more recent history on their side here too, as they’ve only tasted defeat in one of their last 12 top-flight matches against Roma (W5, D6) – the side they’ve beaten more often than any other (76) in SA history!
In keeping with the “Anti-Mourinhism” that exists in Italy according to Roma boss José Mourinho, he believes many would like to see that unwanted record grow, but given they arrive on the back of five successive wins, it’s definitely not a guarantee. They too were in midweek European action with a 2-0 win against Slavia Prague in the UEFA Europa League (UEL) on Thursday, thus affording them two days fewer to rest and recover than their hosts.
That’s not the only hindrance they run into here, as they’ll be without the presence of Mourinho on the touchline after he was sent off in last weekend’s 1-0 victory over Monza for taunting the opposition bench after Roma’s late winner. He’s already played his part in stoking the fire ahead of this clash though, claiming he cannot understand the hostility from Inter fans towards Lukaku, who he has already confirmed will start at San Siro.
Players to watch: Topping the SA scoring charts ahead of the round, Inter’s Lautaro MartĂnez has seen six of his last seven league goals arrive after the hour mark. Preferring a quick start, Lukaku scored in a 14th-successive UEL game on Thursday, his fourth successive club scoring appearance in which he has netted inside the opening 25 minutes.
Hot stat: Ahead of the round, Inter and Roma have scored a joint-SA high seven goals after the 75th minute this season.