Roma returns from the international break with its stiffest test of the young season when they host Inter Milan at the Olimpico later today. So, Gian Piero Gasperini will need to get his line-up choices
and tactics exactly right if Roma is going to beat last year’s Champions League finalists.
For this match, Gasperini will be without Angeliño and Leon Bailey, who is still not ready to return from the injury he suffered in his first Roma training session. Gasperini was asked about Bailey during his pre-match presser.
“No, I certainly didn’t expect it. We all hoped his injury would be less serious but it took the time it took. The only good thing is that we’re now quite close. I think he should be available in a week or two.“Obviously when a player’s had a long spell on the sidelines, they need to be introduced gradually. I don’t think he’ll come straight in and hit the ground running. It will take time. But we have to start looking forward. I certainly think he’s a player who can help us a lot. He offers slightly different things to the other players in the squad. He’s a player we’re all counting on.”
And with Angeliño out, it’s expected that Kostas Tsimikas will replace the Spaniard. Gasperini did leave open the possibility of Devyne Rensch playing on the left as well.
“It’s one option. We have [Kostas] Tsimikas at left-back and then we have Rensch and Wesley who can play on the left. We have these three players and two of them will play.”
One key man that Gasperini was asked about is Paulo Dybala, who returned from injury to play 30 minutes against Fiorentina prior to the international break.
“Everyone knows the options we have and we won’t be moving away from those. Like all the others who stayed, Dybala has had two good weeks. We’ve been able to train well. It was definitely useful for him and [Lorenzo] Pellegrini, and for everyone really.“I have to say I’m happy with what we’ve done. Of course you have a better idea of the condition of the players who stayed. It’s a bit harder to know how the players who were on international duty are doing. Lots of them played, some a bit more, some a bit less. This is always the big question mark everyone has after the international break.”
Now, the latest reports from the peninsula suggest that Dybala might actually start this match as a false 9 to draw away the focus from Inter’s three center backs. By starting Dybala, Gasperini would lose a physical presence in attack but gain greater fluidity in the interchange between Dybala, Matías Soulé, and Lorenzo Pellegrini.
If Pellegrini starts, he could also be tasked with attempting to take Hakan Çalhanoglu out of the match defensively like he was tasked with doing to Niccoló Rovella in the derby.
“Yes, it’s one option. When we play, there are always different options, not just one. But that is certainly one of our options”
Meanwhile, further back in the midfield don’t expect any change to the Manu Koné—Bryan Cristante pairing for a match of this magnitude despite Niccolò Pisilli’s strong performances for Italy’s U21.
“He doesn’t struggle in a two- or a three-man midfield. He’s a player with huge potential. Right now we have some excellent players. Would you leave out [Manu] Kone or [Bryan] Cristante? At the moment Kone, Cristante and [Neil] El Ayanoui are playing. Actually Pisilli has played and hopefully with time he’ll play more, but right now others are playing.“We have a very strong, very solid core who are always there whether we win or lose, who consistently produce top performances and results. Then we have a load of players, youngsters, who are improving and growing. Now we’ll have Dybala back and soon we should have [Leon] Bailey too. Then we have Pellegrini back, [Devyne] Rensch, El Ayanoui… We don’t only have eight or nine players. Obviously you need more. It’s a squad and in certain areas we have an abundance. You need more matches to obtain better performances.”
Probable Formation
ROMA (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Çelik, Mancini, Ndicka; Wesley, Koné, Cristante, Tsimikas; Soulé, Pellegrini; Dybala.