“We don’t know about those two players yet. Wesley had a bout of gastroenteritis which gave him a bit of grief. We’ll see if he’s better. Hermoso will have a runout on the pitch today. We’re not particularly optimistic but I’m still holding out a bit of hope.”
With Paulo Dybala and Leon Bailey already ruled out, Gasperini and his team will also have to wait to see the status of two early-season lineup fixtures. If Hermoso can’t start, then it’ll be Zeki Çelik stepping into the backline alongside Gianluca
Mancini and Evan Ndicka. If Wesley can’t play, then Devyne Rensch will make his first start of the season.
There was some talk of Kostas Tsimikas making his first Roma appearance from the start and Angeliño sliding further up the pitch into Dybala’s position. However, Gasperini dismissed that idea:
“Tsimikas joined us after the international break and has started training with us. He’s starting to settle in. After Lazio we have lots of games so he’ll play. I don’t know when but he’ll get on the pitch and he’ll play. He’s been here a week, which is as long as you get to familiarise yourself with opposition teams. He might start tomorrow or he could come on. Sooner or later he’ll play. Then his performances will determine everything else.”
It looks like Stephan El Shaarawy is favored over Neil El-Ayanoui to start in Dybala’s place. Gasperini also fielded a few questions about Lorenzo Pellegrini’s role.
“As for Pellegrini, I consider him a great player, potentially an exceptional player. It’s the same with [Paulo] Dybala. Then it comes down to performances. He was sidelined for months. He’s been training for a long time and he obviously doesn’t need any introductions to the group. His time could come sooner or later. Tomorrow? Why not. Physically he’s fine. He’s ready to play. I don’t know how long he’ll last. With the quality he has, I expect him to become an athlete too and perform at a decent level because the potential he has is immense. Why hasn’t he fulfilled it? I don’t know. Or perhaps he has at times. He’s an Italy player and [Gennaro] Gattuso is waiting for him but you need other values. He’s 29. Why shouldn’t he run and be fit? He can do the lot. He’s even better pushed slightly further forward.
“Last Sunday Neil [El Aynaoui] played. Maybe he needs a bit more time and a different position. He can play high on the left. [Niccolo] Pisilli can play there. [Bryan] Cristante can play there. But he certainly has the qualities. I do need to know something though: Am I to bring him back in by myself? Is the club ok with that? Are the fans ok with that? Because he’s potentially a top-level player but I can’t do it if he’s not in the club’s or the fans’ good books. I need the best version of Pellegrini. If we can get him back together, we have a top player. Otherwise it becomes a problem and we’ll need to look at another player. I look at the performances and I pick what I need.”
Certainly, some interesting comments about the former captain who isn’t expected to start. It’ll likely be Bryan Cristante paired with Manu Koné. Meanwhile, Evan Ferguson is expected to lead the attack with support from Matías Soulé.
“We’ve tried Soule in different positions in training. He’s playing well and last season he often played on the wing. We’re playing him further forward and he’s scored. Playing him in the hole is something to consider.”
Gasperini also spoke on Artem Dovbyk.
“Dovbyk is like any other player. He didn’t come on against Torino because there was another situation. We didn’t play well against Torino but I don’t think we were any worse than our opponents. We perhaps didn’t deserve to lose it. We lost to a single shot on goal. We didn’t prepare for that game particularly well as we had the internationals coming back during the week. We were off colour but we won the other two. That’s it. Now we have another game.
“I want to see the team’s growth. Some players who were expected to leave – like Dovbyk, Pellegrini and [Tommaso] Baldanzi – didn’t. I have to bring them back into the picture. When the transfer window shuts, I only look forward. I need all the players in the best shape possible. So Dovbyk has to do well, Pellegrini has to do well, Baldanzi has to do well, and the same goes for Hermoso, who wasn’t supposed to be here. We have 22-23 players and we must get the best out of them. I’m sorry when we play below par like against Torino, but just as you move on after a win, so too must you move on when you lose. Tomorrow I want to see a team playing better than in the last game and show all the good things you can find in football.”
Probable Formation
ROMA (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Hermoso, Mancini, Ndicka; Rensch, Koné, Cristante, Angeliño; Soulé, El Shaarawy; Ferguson.
