“He’s [Dovbyk] not fully recovered. Even though he’s been training for a few days, he is still having some difficulty kicking. Other than that, we’re all here apart from the two who have left. [Mario]
Hermoso has a little issue that we’re hoping to resolve.”
“We’re assessing Dybala today. We’ll try him out, test him and see if he’s ready to start, to be subbed on or to be on the bench. I think he’s always highly motivated. I don’t think a player of his level has any motivation issues. It’s just a question of fitness. He needs to be fit, able to sprint, kick and do so in the best possible way, to be able to play at the level expected of him.”
Those were the updates from Gian Piero Gasperini ahead of the big match at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday against Juventus. With Dovbyk still not fit, it’s likely that Evan Ferguson again leads the line up front. And with Dybala’s status uncertain, it’s probable that Lorenzo Pellegrini and Matías Soulé play in support of the Irishman.
The status of Hermoso could be key in this one, though. With Evan Ndicka off to AFCON, Roma will be without one of its defensive stalwarts. So, if Hermoso is deemed unfit, Gasperini will have a big decision to make in a tough road test.
“He’s [Rensch] fatigued so we hope he’ll recover in time. It’s not a strain, it’s not a muscle problem, it’s not anything like that. I’d like to make as few changes to the team as possible because to bring Celik in, I’d have to move [Gianluca] Mancini and shake things up. You risk involving three players to replace one. It’s not ideal. However, it’s clear that [Evan] Ndicka’s absence will definitely force us to experiment. The solutions are these: [Jan] Ziolkowski, Celik, [Daniele] Ghilardi. If Hermoso was out too, as I said before, and Rensch as well, that would undoubtedly put us in more difficulty.”
We expect Zeki Çelik to be the one that slots into the back three in Ndicka’s place with Mancini shifting to the middle of the three. If Hermoso is unable to go then we believe he’d lean Ghilardi over Ziolkowski. And if Rensch is ready then he should get another start at left wing back with Wesley at right wing back.
ROMA (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Çelik, Mancini, Hermoso; Wesley, Cristante, Koné, Rensch; Soulé, Pellegrini; Ferguson
