- Kick-off
- Venue
- Old Trafford, Manchester
Our call: Manchester United 1–2 AS Roma · AS Roma win
Donyell Malen against a United defence that has conceded in 9 of its last 10 games.
We'll mark this call after full time.
Logged 1 Nov, 09:41 UTC, never edited.
In 30 seconds
- Manchester United have gone nine games without a win, and Michael Carrick says he will still be in charge against Roma.
- United are 20th on 3 points after three games, with ten sides below them on the same total; Roma are 15th on 4.
- Roma are reportedly without their first-choice goalkeeper and still leave Old Trafford with the win.
The story
Michael Carrick knows what a big night against Roma at Old Trafford feels like. As a player he scored twice in United's 7–1 win over them in the 2007 Champions League quarter-final, as UEFA's pre-match notes recall. On Tue 3 Nov he meets them as a manager under pressure. United lost 2–0 at Chelsea on Sat 31 Oct, with Lisandro Martínez sent off, and have not won in nine games in all competitions; Sky Sports has them one point above the Premier League relegation zone. Asked straight after the game whether he would still be in charge for Roma, Carrick said: "Yes."
It has been a strained few weeks. Carrick left his captain, Bruno Fernandes, on the bench against Bournemouth after Fernandes questioned the tactics following the 4–1 defeat at Como, then put him back in the side at Stamford Bridge.
Gian Piero Gasperini's Roma travel in far better shape. They won 5–2 at Udinese on Sat 31 Oct, a game Gasperini called their eighth in 20 days, and he still made five changes, with the trip to Manchester three days later. Football Italia counts ten Serie A games without a defeat. What Roma lack is their first-choice goalkeeper: Mile Svilar broke a toe and is reported out until after the international break, so Pierluigi Gollini stays in goal.
The table is why this matters to both. The top eight go straight into the last 16, and ninth to 24th play off for the rest of the places. Ten sides below United have the same 3 points, so a home defeat could drop them out of the top 24 with four games left. Roma, 15th on 4, can move towards the top eight with a win.
Champions League 2026/27 explained: the format and the full league-phase table
This decides it: Donyell Malen against Harry Maguire, and a United back line that has conceded in 9 of its last 10 games.
Form
Four defeats and a draw, with two goals scored in the five.
Four wins in five, and 18 goals.
The games, with scores
| Manchester United | 31 Oct | at ChelseaPL | L 0–2 |
| 25 Oct | v BournemouthPL | L 0–3 | |
| 21 Oct | at ComoCL | L 1–4 | |
| 18 Oct | at LeedsPL | D 1–1 | |
| 13 Oct | at Atlético MadridCL | L 0–2 | |
| AS Roma | 31 Oct | at UdineseSA | W 5–2 |
| 27 Oct | v CagliariSA | W 4–2 | |
| 24 Oct | at NapoliSA | D 3–3 | |
| 20 Oct | v Slovan BratislavaCL | W 4–0 | |
| 17 Oct | v GenoaSA | W 2–0 |
Latest first. Latest on the left. PL = Premier League, CL = Champions League, SA = Serie A. OddsIntel match database, read 31 Oct 2026.
Team news
Checked Sun 1 Nov 07:20 UK time: manutd.com, Sky Sports and premierleague.com for United; Corriere dello Sport, Football Italia, La Gazzetta dello Sport and SportMediaset for Roma. Reported = not yet confirmed by the club for this game. Line-ups: confirmed about an hour before kick-off; they go under Updates. We don't publish guessed XIs.
Lisandro Martínez was sent off at Chelsea (Sky Sports, 31 Oct). A domestic red card is served in domestic games under UEFA's rules, so he should be available, though United have not said so. Joshua Zirkzee, with a goal in United's last ten, was on the bench at Stamford Bridge and came on for Amad Diallo in the 77th minute. Roma's Niccolò Pisilli (3 goals in their last ten) and Emanuele Lulli (2) were among Gasperini's five changes at Udinese, Corriere dello Sport reports, with Pisilli coming off the bench; neither is reported injured, so both could be back in the eleven at Old Trafford.
AS Roma 3-4-2-1 · at Udinese, 31 Oct
- Gollini
- GhilardiN'DickaHermoso
- MolinaCristanteDe RoonWesley
- SouléMora
- Malen (key battle)
- CunhaMbeumoDiallo
- BalebaAndrey SantosFernandes
- DalotMartínezMaguire (key battle)Yoro
- Lammens
Manchester United 4-3-3 · at Chelsea, 31 Oct
Both last XIs on a pitch
AS Roma 3-4-2-1 · at Udinese, 31 Oct
- Gollini
- GhilardiN'DickaHermoso
- MolinaCristanteDe RoonWesley
- SouléMora
- Malen (key battle)
- CunhaMbeumoDiallo
- BalebaAndrey SantosFernandes
- DalotMartínezMaguire (key battle)Yoro
- Lammens
Manchester United 4-3-3 · at Chelsea, 31 Oct
Who to watch
The duel to watch: Donyell Malen against Harry Maguire. Malen led Roma's line at Udinese (last XI, 31 Oct); Maguire started in United's back four at Chelsea, with Martínez beside him. If Maguire wins his duels with Malen, Roma have to find their goals from midfield; if Malen gets turned and running at him, United's night gets longer.
AS Roma
Donyell Malen
Leads Roma's attack; 5 goals with a known scorer in their last 10.
- 5
- goals, Roma's last 10
Manchester United
Bryan Mbeumo
Started in United's front three at Chelsea.
- 2
- goals, United's last 10
Manchester United
Matheus Cunha
Started in United's attack at Chelsea.
- 2
- goals, United's last 10
Goals with a known scorer in each side's last ten games, all competitions. OddsIntel match database, read 31 Oct 2026.
Numbers that matter
Goals scored, last ten: Manchester United 10, AS Roma 26 (higher is better)
Roma scored three or more in five of their last ten; United did it once, against Sabah.
Goals conceded, last ten · fewer is better: Manchester United 18, AS Roma 14 (lower is better)
Closer than the attack, because Roma let in seven across Napoli and Real Madrid.
Clean sheets, last ten: Manchester United 1, AS Roma 4 (higher is better)
United's one came against Sabah on 10 Sep.
Last ten games each, all competitions. OddsIntel match database, read 31 Oct 2026.
Our call, explained
Our call: AS Roma win 2–1. Roma lost none of their five away games in their last ten, winning at Torino and Udinese and drawing at Fenerbahçe, Como and Napoli, and they scored in 9 of those ten games. Malen leads that line. We still expect United to score once: Mbeumo and Cunha have two goals each in the run, and Roma have conceded in three of their last five, with Gollini replacing Svilar.
Where this could go wrong. Roma reach Old Trafford three days after their eighth game in 20 days. If tired legs tell and United hold firm, a draw is the likelier miss. The other way, if their defence goes as it did in the 4–1 at Como on 21 Oct, Roma could win by more than one.
Updates
Nothing has changed since we published. Next: Carrick's and Gasperini's pre-match news, the referee when UEFA names one, then confirmed line-ups, about an hour before kick-off.
Data note: results, scorers, the league-phase table and line-ups from our database, read 31 Oct 19:10 UTC, so the counts run to both sides' games on 31 Oct. A player goal count leaves out any goal whose scorer we do not hold (Roma's listed scorers cover 15 of their 26 in their last ten, United's 8 of their 10), so read each one as a floor. Team news and match details from manutd.com, Sky Sports, premierleague.com, UEFA.com, Corriere dello Sport, Football Italia, La Gazzetta dello Sport, SportMediaset, AFP, DPA and The42.
Our call was timestamped by an independent service before kick-off, Sun 1 Nov, 10:00 UTC.
How the timestamp works
Timestamped before kick-off by an independent service (DigiCert, RFC 3161), Sun 1 Nov, 10:00 UTC. The call file is the exact version that was timestamped. The file with our call and its timestamp token: call file · timestamp. Its fingerprint (sha256):
ef34775bb2dd070e73dc6ab33d44b254b7a1426200ee5d91dcc128f838d1b6d5
Our calls so far
- calls right
- 30/49
- home win every time
- 22/49