“We still have to decide and we have another training session tomorrow morning, We’ll certainly make a few changes, but we haven’t decided who yet.”
That was Ivan Juric’s response to the opening question of his prematch presser when asked about squad rotation. However, we should still expect some changes from Sunday’s debut victory for Juric against Udinese. One player who won’t take part is Lorenzo Pellegrini, who has been ruled out with a knee issue.
“He won’t be involved tomorrow. He was doubtful for the previous game but wanted to make it at all costs. However, he felt a bit of pain in his knee. He’s trained separately and I hope he’ll be ok for the next game. He looks good. The lads have been working with a smile and there’s a good atmosphere. I’m happy with him and all the others. The last game has given us a lot of confidence.”
It’ll likely be down to Tomasso Baldanzi or Matías Soulé to replace Lorenzo Pellegrini in the attacking midfield after Juric ruled out Bryan Cristante reviving his role at Atalanta.
“I see him more as a central midfielder. He’s a tidy player who dictates the play and understands what’s happening on the pitch. I don’t really see him further forward. There are other midfielders who might be more suited to playing in the role you’re suggesting.”
At the moment, it seems like Baldanzi is poised to get his first start in support of Artem Dovbyk alongside Paulo Dybala. But, Juric was noncommittal on Dybala as well.
“This is something we need to be very careful about. We have a fantastic team of fitness coaches here. He’s recovered well from Sunday’s game but we need to assess things. When he’s fit and on form, he’s a special player. We’ll try to make sure he can play the whole season and not get injured. We’ll choose game by game.”
If Juric does sit Dybala, then Soulé would start in the attacking midfield as well—a position Juric sees him most suited to play.
“I see him as a trequartista. He can go wide but I don’t really see him covering the entire flank. I think it’s been a big step up for him. He’s very professional and hard-working. He’ll get his chances.”
In support of the attacking trio, Cristante is again expected to start. And it’s likely we see either Manu Koné or Niccoló Pisilli pairing with him in the central midfield. At the moment, Sky Sport is tipping the Italian.
Wide of those two are likely to be Zeki Çelik and Angeliño. Juric paid Angeliño high praise by comparing him to Federico Dimarco who Juric coached at Hellas Verona.
“He can play in both positions. I really liked the way he played the other day. He defended superbly. He’s very aggressive but is excellent with the ball at his feet. He’s very good in the back three but can play as wing-back too. He can happily do either.”
Rounding out the XI will be a back three composed of Gianluca Mancini, Mario Hermoso, and Evan Ndicka, as Mats Hummels is not yet ready for his Roma debut. This was confirmed by Juric.
“Not long, I hope. He’s not at his best yet but he looks like a very positive player. Including the way he acted during the game. He’s slotted into the dressing room with a bit of an aura. We’ve done some training and I’m sure we’ll see him out there before long.”
ROMA (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Mancini, Ndicka, Hermoso; Çelik, Pisilli, Cristante, Angeliño; Dybala, Baldanzi; Dovbyk.