Four matches in the first 17 days of the season isn’t exactly a Spartan regime by modern football standards, but Roma’s somewhat sluggish performance against Fenerbahçe in Thursday’s Champions League opener could signal sweeping changes ahead of Monday’s trip to Torino. Strictly speaking, the Giallorossi didn’t play poorly against their Turkish rivals, but the spring in their step waned significantly in the second half.
While Roma managed to hold on to a draw in Istanbul, the lack of verve in attack
suggested it might be time to put the club’s newfound depth to the test. With an absolutely bonkers gauntlet featuring Inter Milan, Como, and Real Madrid following Monday’s match at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, Gasperini’s man-management skills will be put to the test over the next several weeks.
According to reports in Italy from Tuttosport, Il Tempo, and Corriere dello Sport, Gian Piero Gasperini is considering several changes ahead of the club’s Round 4 fixture against Torino. The most likely candidates to slide to the bench on Monday are Paulo Dybala, Wesley França, Manu Koné, and Gianluca Mancini, meaning we could see a few first-time starters for the capital club.
At that back, the defense is likely to take on a distinctly more South American flair, with the Argentine duo of Nahuel Molina and Leonardo Balerdi likely to start in place of Wesley and Mancini, respectively. We’ll have to wait and see who Gasperini pairs with them, but the more intriguing decisions rest in attack.
With four assists in three league matches, Dybala is off to an incredible start, but the challenge with the 32-year-old is not the quality of his play but the quantity. After playing 343 minutes in the club’s first four matches, it may already be time to monitor La Joya’s minutes, leaving Gasperini with a difficult decision: Does he start Matías Soulé or Rodrigo Mora in his place?
According to Corriere dello Sport, Gasperini may start his two young attacking midfielders against Torino, lining them up behind Donyell Malen, who may receive a reprieve in favor of Argentinian forward Santiago Castro. There’s also the not-so-trivial matter of Lorenzo Pellegrini, who is poised to return to action for the first time this season and could potentially throw a monkey wrench in Gasperini’s plans.
Roma didn’t make many glamorous signings this summer, but additions such as Mora, Molina, and Castro, among others, give Gasperini a level of depth his predecessors would have envied. Now it’s time to put that depth to use. The coming days and weeks will reveal how Gasperini views and values his new squad.
