Fresh off of a solid draw against FC Barcelona in the Champions League, Roma return to Serie A to face a steady Sassuolo side, led by young Nicola Sansone.
Sassuolo are very much an upstart team this campaign, sitting on seven points, but Roma have been playing some very good football as of late, as evident in their match against Barca early on in the week. Last season, Roma won and played to a draw with the Neroverdi, with the 3-0 win coming at Sassuolo’s Maipei Stadium. Alessandro Florenzi and Miralem Pjanic are the two returning players who scored in last seasons ties, both having scored in the rout. Speaking of Pjanic, coach Rudi Garica stated that the Bosnian has recovered early from his leg injury and will be ready to play for the Giallorossi should they need him in the match. I don’t expect him to start, but look for Roma to utilize him should they need a dominant midfield presence. Roma have managed seven points so far, but no game came be taken lightly this early on in the season. Coming off of a midweek fixture is always tough, but squad depth will be tested on Sunday.
Roma
That Roma defense played spectacularly in their draw with FC Barcelona, and the part of the team I was so quick to criticize before the season began is fast becoming their greatest asset. Alessandro Florenzi, wonder goal aside, has been one of the best fullbacks not just in Italy, but in world football as this early season begins to unfold. Couple his fantastic performances with the ever improving Lucas Digne, and you have one of the best pairings of fullbacks around. And how about young Antonio Rudiger? The 22-year old German stared down Messi, Neymar and Suarez, and was steadfast. Fresh off of an injury, he and Manolas were a brick wall against the Catalan side, and just like that Rudi Garcia has a terrific, in-form defense. With Pjanic coming back nearly three weeks early, and the attack force still in solid form, Roma have all the ingredients to continue this good run of games. The biggest x-factor in this game though, will be how Rudi Garcia manages his players fatigue. As I said earlier, coming off of a midweek fixture of any kid is a tough burden, especially one against the reigning Champions League winners. Garcia could try to use players like Salih Ucan, Norberto Gyomber or Juan Manuel Iturbe, but knowing him, he’ll probably stick with about nine of the players who started the UCL match. Wojciech Szczesny will miss the match against Sassuolo with a dislocated finger, and that will be a big test for the Giallorossi. The Polish shot stopper has been terrific so far, having allowed only three goals on the year, and playing hero ball in many of their matches. Kevin Strootman and Elio Capradossi remain out for il Lupi.
Probable Formation (4-2-3-1): De Sanctic; Digne, Manolas, Rudiger, Florenzi; Nainggolan, Keita; Salah, Iago Falque, Iturbe; Dzeko
Sassuolo
The Neroverdi have started off the Serie A campaign playing some solid football, and the likes of Nicola Sansone and Antonio Floro Flores are two of Serie A’s hottest talents. Sassuolo shocked Napoli on opening weekend, and have since beaten and drawn with Bologna and Atalanta respectively. The teams greatest strength lays in it’s attack. The defense has come up big in many cases early on this season, but Consigli and his back line cannot be counted on to excel on every occasion. The Reggia-Emilia outfit will be without Domenico Berardi again, as well as the always reliable Sime Vrsaljko, with the latter missing the game due to injury and the former due to a suspension. Those are two key pieces, but Sassuolo have been without Berardi all season, and Vrsaljko, while impactful, can be replaced by someone like Fede Peluso. It will definitely be an uphill climb, but both sides are in excellent form, and whoever’s attack is clicking on all cylinders will win this one. Sansone, Floro Flores and Defrel versus the many options Roma have in attack will be fun to watch.
Probable Formation (4-3-3): Consigli; Peluso, Acerbi, Cannavaro, Gazzola; Duncan, Magnanelli, Missiroli; Sansone, Defrel, Floro Flores
Notable Quotes
Rudi Garcia, Roma Coach
“It’s always tough to prepare for the games either side of a Champions League encounter. Sassuolo have seven points and they’re a very good team with some excellent players, especially up front. We’ll need to give everything on the pitch tomorrow if we want to win. Our aim is to make it a third straight league victory.”
“Yes, because it means we can play in different ways and still be effective, since it’s always the result that matters. Of course it’s better when you play and win as we did against Juventus, but it’s not easy to win a match before a massive Champions League game like the one against Barcelona and that’s what we did. We had to come up with something different against Barca but we remained effective. After the game I said Roma had proved they can adapt. It’s a big plus point for us and it shows we’ve improved.”
“Rotation is possible, yes. Although you might see the same team as on Wednesday because we’re still at the start of the season and we had four days after Frosinone and have had four since Barcelona. With the squad we have available here, the level of the team should never drop. No matter who plays we should have enough to win games.”
Eusebio Di Francesco, Sassuolo Coach
“We care about this game and the fact we arrive at the Olimpico level on points with Roma means we’ve done something right so far”
“I’m happy to meet up with so many friends, including Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi, and I’ll be very pleased if Roma do well from Monday onwards. It’s not the first time I’ve been back there and I am focused only on doing well with Sassuolo.”
Player to watch – Kostas Manolas, Roma
The heart of that Roma defense, Manolas will have to stop two of Serie A’s most in form players in Antonio Floro Flores and Nicola Sansone. That task doesn’t seem so daunting when you just held FC Barcelona’s ‘MSN’ trio to one goal on 18 shots, but fatigue is always a problem in the world of football. With a backup ‘keeper in the fold for the foreseeable future, the defense will have a bit more added pressure to keep opposing attackers from getting good chances, and the Greek international will be at the heart of this.
Score Prediction: Roma 3-2 Sassuolo
Roma are the better side in this fixture, but fatigue and injuries to key players will allow it to be closer than it is.
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