Milan, Italy (SportsNetwork.com) - AS Roma will put its perfect start to the season on the line on Saturday when the club travels to the San Siro to battle Inter Milan.
Few expected the club to start this well, but through six matches, Roma have looked like a juggernaut getting ready to roll. They have conceded just one goal this season -- in a 3-1 road victory against Parma -- and are coming off their most complete performance of the campaign.
Last weekend, Roma eased past Bologna by a comfortable 5-0 score behind a brace from Gervinho and goals from Mehdi Benatia, Alessandro Florenzi and Adem Ljajic.
Florenzi opened the scoring eight minutes into the game and Gervinho bagged his first of the day nine minutes later for a quick 2-0 lead. The Giallorossi continued their strong play for the duration of the 90 minutes as Benatia scored in the 25th minute, while Gervinho completed his double in the 62nd minute and Liajic finished the rout with a goal five minutes from time.
"In football there's no such thing as a perfect team. There's always something you can improve," Roma manager Rudi Garcia said of the result. "The credit goes to the boys who played their hearts out. We have a variety of talent at our disposal and tonight's game was proof of that."
The Giallorossi will face an Inter squad that is in decent form, riding a six- match unbeaten streak with the club's only dropped points coming in a 1-1 draw with Juventus on Sept. 14 and last week's 1-1 stalemate against Cagliari.
Mauro Icard found a late breakthrough for Inter with 15 minutes to play, but they couldn't hold the lead as Radja Nainggolan scored in the 83rd minute for Cagliari.
Despite dropping the two points, Inter sits in fourth place in Serie A and will present a significant challenge to Roma.
"The Nerazzurri sure are a strong team with talented players. They have the advantage of playing at home. But that doesn't change anything for me," Garcia said. "I've always said to my players that we have to try to win all 38 matches, both home and away. I hope tomorrow's match turns out to be a great game.
"We'll definitely play to win, as I've said, but it will be difficult: we're expecting 5,000 fans from Rome. The San Siro will be almost full and it will be a great atmosphere. It would obviously be better to have the three points at the end."
Also on Saturday in Serie A, Chievo will shoot to rebound from two straight defeats when the club hosts Atalante at the Stadio M.A. Bentegodi.
Sunday's action sees Parma host newcomers Sassuolo, while Bologna welcomes Hellas Verona at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara. Catania battles Genoa, second- place Naopli will be on the hunt for three points at home against Livorno.
Sampdoria battles Torino, Udinese hosts Cagliari, while Juventus welcomes AC Milan to Juventus Stadium and the weekend closes out with Lazio hosting Fiorentina at the Stadio Olimpico.
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