Serie A: Roma vs Monza Preview & Odds
Roma’s Form Improving
Monza Getting Overlooked
In their first-ever Serie A season, AC Monza finished in 11th place in the league. Monza is getting overlooked this season, as the Lombardy club is currently on a five-game unbeaten run. They’ll head to the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday to take on AS Roma. Roma started the season slowly but are going for their third straight Serie A win. We’ll look at the odds for this match and the latest team news in our Roma vs Monza preview.
Roma vs Monza
Day/Time:
Location: Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy
Head-to-Head:
Roma and Monza’s first two matchups on the Serie A schedule were last season. Paulo Dybala scored twice as Roma picked up a 3-0 win at the Stadio Olimpico last August. At Monza, these teams drew 1-1 as Luca Caldirola’s goal canceled out Stephan El Shaarawy’s for Roma.
Lukaku, Belotti Starring for Roma
It’s been an up-and-down season for Jose Mourinho’s Roma, but they look to be headed in the right direction. In their second Europa League group stage game, they beat Servette 4-0 as Andrea Belotti got on the scoresheet twice. Belotti came on as a sub at Cagliari a few days later but managed to get on the scoresheet.
Romelu Lukaku scored a brace at Cagliari and was also on target vs. Servette. Houssem Aouar also scored his second league goal of the season in the 4-1 win over Cagliari. It was an excellent week for Lukaku and Belotti, who have been superb this season. Lukaku, since joining on loan from Chelsea, has scored five league goals in six games. Belotti has added three goals and two assists.
After going winless in their first three league games, the Giallorossi’s Serie A scores have improved in recent weeks. They’ve won two straight and have just one loss in their last five games. Roma vs Monza previews note that Mourinho’s side are in just 10th place at present, but they are expected to climb the table in the upcoming weeks. The problem is that Roma are dealing with a bunch of injuries. Tammy Abraham and Marash Kumbulla are out long-term, while Renato Sanches, Chris Smalling, Paulo Dybala, Lorenzo Pellegrini, and Diego Llorente could all miss this match.
Monza on Unbeaten Run
The highest save percentage in the league belongs to AC Monza’s Michele Di Gregorio. The goalkeeper was called into action a handful of times in the 3-0 win over Salernitana and made some superb saves. So far, opponents have only found the net on 14.3 percent of shots they’ve put on Di Gregorio’s net. He’s kept four clean sheets this season, including three in a row.
Monza has become a viable pick for soccer betting and is currently on a five-game unbeaten streak. In the recent win vs. Salernitana, Andrea Colpani, Samuele Vignato, and Matteo Pessina all got on the scoresheet. Colpani scored his fourth goal of the season in the match, while Vignato marked his first-ever Serie A start with his first goal in the Italian top flight.
It’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility that Monza will qualify for European competition this season. They’re in seventh place and have a reasonably deep squad, but they’ll be hoping to score more goals. They’ve only managed a goal per game so far and have relied heavily on Colpani. Striker Gianluca Caprari is out with a long-term knee injury, while defender Armando Izzo could also miss this match.
Match Analysis & Odds
Roma vs Monza previews note that the Giallorossi got a comfortable win over Monza at the Stadio Olimpico last season. However, during the first few weeks of Monza’s debut Serie A season, their form improved throughout the campaign. Monza are not easy to beat, and Roma cannot afford to take them lightly here. A shorthanded Roma side comes in at -143 odds to win on Sunday.
Monza are +375 underdogs and looking for their first-ever Serie A win vs. Roma. The last meeting finished in a draw, and bettors can take another at +275 odds here. Monza conceded just twice in their last five games, while Roma scored ten in their last three matches in all competitions.
AS Roma -0.5, -1 displays -115 odds, while Monza +0.5, +1 sits at -105. It’ll be difficult for Monza to keep Roma off the scoresheet. After all, the Giallorossi have averaged three goals per game in four Serie A contests at the Stadio Olimpico so far. Even so, under 2.5 goals are priced at -115 odds for Sunday’s match.
For Serie A betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
