Monza, rooted to the bottom of the Serie A table, host Roma on Sunday as coach Alessandro Nesta continues to search for his first league victory since taking over in June. Achieving it against the three-time Scudetto winners may prove to be a tough task though, as the White and Reds have lost three of the four top-flight H2Hs (D1) and were thrashed 4-1 in this fixture back in March..
Monza, rooted to the bottom of the Serie A table, host Roma on Sunday as coach Alessandro Nesta continues to search for his first league victory since taking over in June. Achieving it against the three-time Scudetto winners may prove to be a tough task though, as the White and Reds have lost three of the four top-flight H2Hs (D1) and were thrashed 4-1 in this fixture back in March. The hosts might hope to channel the spirit of their 1988/89 Coppa Italia side who, as a Serie B team, defeated Roma 2-1 in the first game ever to be played at this venue, the Stadio Brianteo! However, 36 years on from that August victory, the home fans will be hoping they can see a Serie A win at the venue again, something they have not experienced since mid-March. Roma supporters are also a group who have been kept waiting, in their case for an away victory since April, and Thursday’s UEFA Europa League defeat in Sweden to Elfsborg means it is now eight games across all competitions since they won on the road (D5, L3)! Despite that, they are unbeaten in away games in Serie A this season (D3) thanks to some resolute defensive displays under former boss Daniele De Rossi, which saw them concede just one goal across their visits to Cagliari, Juventus and Genoa. New manager Ivan Jurić will hope to keep that defensive form up here but their stinginess at the back has come at a cost in front of goal, one of the reasons De Rossi was ultimately dismissed, with Artem Dovbyk’s opener at Genoa in round four their sole strike away from home this season. But that could be about to change as teams managed by Jurić have never failed to score on visits to Monza and his sides are also unbeaten in all six H2Hs (W3, D3). Players to watch: Monza defender Andrea Carboni was part of Cagliari’s victory over Roma in 2020/21 but he has since experienced four successive H2H defeats, despite scoring in the last matchup. Conversely, Stephan El Shaarawy brings an undefeated record in his games against Monza (W3, D1) with the Roma left-winger scoring in two of those matches. Hot stat: Monza have not been ahead at half-time in their last six Serie A home games.. Written by 90 Live
