GdS: Four forwards, no strikers – why Milan-Roma is a clash of unusual pairings

AC Milan and Roma will both field two up front at San Siro on Sunday night, but with a surprise: none of the four players will be strikers.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write this morning, there aren’t any goal-scoring machines in the Milan and Roma squads, but there’s certainly plenty of talent. The two sides will rely on two ‘odd pairs’ tonight, without a pure centre-forward.

Christopher Nkunku and Rafael Leao – Massimiliano Allegri’s chosen duo – have never started a game together. Meanwhile, Matias Soulé and Paulo Dybala – who Gian Piero Gasperini will select – are left-footed players more used to playing wider and/or deeper.

Max’s duo

The day before the match is one where coaches iron out their tactics. In the press conference, Allegri wanted to leave doubts about the attack. A reporter asked: “Do Leao and Nkunku have the right characteristics to play together?”

The AC Milan coach replied: “I’m also curious to see how they’ll play together, if I’ll field them. In football, sometimes you find unexpected combinations: they both know how to play football.”

Afterwards, Allegri would strategically point out that he also has Saelemaekers and Loftus-Cheek available, who can be deployed up front. But the tactical tests confirm that the choice seems made: for the first time this season, Nkunku and Leao will start together.

So far, the two have shared the burden of the Rossoneri attack for only half an hour: 16 minutes in Turin against Juventus, 14 minutes at San Siro against Pisa. It is too little to determine whether the chemistry is right or not.

A peculiarity: neither are a natural centre-forward. Leao has the size to be one, but his attitude and movements need work. Nkunku has the intelligence and composure in front of goal, but not the height.

So, who will be the starting ‘striker’ tonight? Logically, Allegri has tested Rafa more often than the Frenchman, but it doesn’t matter. Rather, the connection between the two will be crucial, and the hunger too.

Leao needs to get back on track after the defeat in Bergamo, and Nkunku is still searching for his first goal in Serie A, though it must be said he is yet to start a league game. Maybe together, they can help each other.

Roma’s hope

Meanwhile, at Roma, Soulé and Dybala are the attacking certainties. And what’s surprising is that since the summer of 2024, when Soulé arrived at the Giallorossi, the two seemed destined to compete for the same spot.

In fact, the management at the time had planned a rotation, with Dybala leaving (for Saudi Arabia) and Soulé in. Yet today they play alongside each other, even though Dybala is forced to move to the other side, to the left, because they both love playing on the right but can’t play together.

So, Gasperini moves the one with the most quality to the other positions, knowing that La Joya can perform and assist just about anywhere. Even though, all things considered, the one who has performed best so far is Soulé, who has already scored three goals and provided two assists.

In short, 38% of Roma’s goals (5 out of 13 overall) have come through Matias, and Gasperini sang his praises: “He’s the one who’s playing the most, his performances are always top-notch. He has consistency, and that satisfies me.”

Gasp will then decide today when and how to rely on using a centre-forward. It’s unlikely to happen from the start, but it’s likely to happen as the game progresses, because Artem Dovbyk is coming off a goal against Parma.