Roma stand between Milan and a great escape

Roma are the only team standing between leaders Milan and a winter escape as Serie A gets ready to shut down for the Christmas holiday period.

Milan already lead the table by six points with Juventus, Napoli and Lazio all level in the chase to rejoin the leaders.

And those teams, as well as Roma themselves, champions Inter and even Palermo, will all be hoping that Roma can knock over the rossoneri and re-ignite the title race. However, to do so they will have to find a way of stopping the current in-form striker in the league, Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The big Swede is aiming at big things with his team-mates.

“We want to win everything, that’s normal. We have three objectives – the league, the Champions League and the Italian Cup,” he said.

“We have to concentrate and work hard and then we’ll be rewarded.

Ibrahimovic already won the Serie A title five times in a row before moving to Barcelona last season and winning the Spanish crown there as well.

So, this is a man who knows inside out the atmosphere at a successful trophy-winning club, but Ibrahimovic claims he’s never felt better than at Milan.

“In these last few months I’ve seen the great tradition here. I have a great relationship with my team-mates... it’s great, we help each other,” he said.

“I’ve never breathed such an atmosphere before.”

Not only do Milan have Ibrahimovic and strike partner Robinho, who has also been in fine goalscoring form recently, but according to the big Swede, the return of midfield general Gennaro Gattuso from injury this weekend will be crucial.

“He’s a great player, a motivator, he’s pure adrenaline. He pushes the group forward,” said Ibrahimovic.

“On the pitch he’s an animal, without him it’s tough.”

However, Roma are the team who finished runners-up in four of the last five seasons behind Inter and their president Rosella Sensi insists they should not feel belittled by Milan.

They also boast striker Marco Borriello, the man sold by Milan to make way for Ibrahimovic at the start of the season. And Sensi admitted he is likely to be chomping at the bit ahead of this game.

“He’s a great professional but he’ll probably be eagerly expecting this occasion,” she said.

“We’re extremely competitive. Last year was a feat, no-one expected us to come back the way we did (from a 14-point deficit to Inter they briefly went top), especially against Inter with all their great players.

“But our squad this year is extremely competitive, I can’t predict anything but I can say that we have the potential to go all the way.”

Roma can’t afford to lose if they are to harbour hopes of winning the title this season, though, as they are already 10 points behind Milan.

And if they do managed to get a result, Juve will be looking to take advantage as they travel to inconsistent Chievo.

Lazio will also be expecting to win at home to Udinese while Napoli, buoyed by their qualification to the Europa League knock-out phase, will hope they can beat lowly Lecce and close the gap.

As for Inter, they run the risk of dropping to 16 points off the pace (albeit with two games in hand) if Milan do win.

Fixtures

Serie A

Playing today
Cesena vs Cagliari - 18.00
Milan vs Roma - 20.45

Tomorrow – 15.00
Bari vs Palermo
Catania vs Brescia
Chievo vs Juventus
Lazio vs Udinese - 12.30
Napoli vs Lecce
Parma vs Bologna
Sampdoria vs Genoa - 20.45

Standings: Milan 36; Juventus, Napoli, Lazio 30; Palermo, Roma 26; Inter, Sampdoria, Udinese 23; Genoa 21; Cagliari, Chievo 20; Fiorentina, Bologna (-1) 19; Catania, Parma 18; Brescia, Lecce 15; Cesena 12; Bari 10.

Serie B

Played yesterday
Novara vs Pescara - 1-1

Today– 15.00
Ascoli vs Reggina
Cittadella vs Atalanta
Grosseto vs Crotone
Livorno vs Padova
Portogruaro vs Modena
Sassuolo vs Frosinone
Torino vs Empoli
Varese vs Siena
Vicenza vs Triestina

Monday – 20.45
AlbinoLeffe vs Piacenza

Leading standings: Novara 42; Siena 37; Atalanta 36; Varese 32; Livorno, Reggina 31; Torino 29; Pescara 28; Padova 27; Vicenza 26; Empoli 25.