Champions League football will be key to keep Antonio Conte at Napoli

Fabio Capello has assessed AS Roma's fixture list for the upcoming season in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport. Capello expects Roma to start the new campaign with the same certainty and quality they showed at the end of the previous season, given that Gasperini is the new head coach. However, he warns that the early schedule presents significant challenges. Capello highlighted that Roma will not face any newly promoted teams in their opening ten fixtures—an unusual circumstance that leaves them vulnerable to a demanding run of matches. The Giallorossi will encounter Inter, Napoli, Como, Atalanta, and Fiorentina during this period, alongside difficult away trips to Torino and Udinese. Roma's opening match will be against Fiorentina, while their season concludes with an away fixture at Cagliari. Capello stated: "Knowing Gasperini, I expect a Roma that in August restarts from the certainties and the brilliance with which it ended this season. The schedule is not, however, very straightforward: the Giallorossi will not face any newly promoted sides in the first ten matches, but instead they will come up against Inter, Napoli, Como, Atalanta, Fiorentina… plus complicated away trips like those with Torino and Udinese."

Roma announced Gian Piero Gasperini as head coach on 6 June 2025, marking the start of his first season in charge. The club achieved Champions League qualification, with El Shaarawy among the goal scorers during the campaign. Gasperini's appointment came following the departure of Claudio Ranieri, who had managed the club in the 2024–25 season. The 'condottiero' (commander) has guided Roma towards European football's elite competition in his inaugural year, fulfilling a key objective for the Friedkin Group ownership.

Roma's fixture calendar for the 2024–25 season presents a complex overlap between Serie A and Champions League commitments. The Giallorossi begin their league campaign on 22–23 August against Fiorentina at the Olimpico, with Champions League action starting in September. The first Champions fixture (8–10 September) falls between league matches against Atalanta and Torino, setting the tone for a demanding campaign. Key fixture congestion occurs throughout the season. Roma face Atalanta on 6 September before their Champions League opener, followed by Torino on 13 September. The second Champions round (13–14 October) bookends matches against Como and Genoa, while the third week (20–21 October) sits between Roma–Genoa and Napoli–Roma. Later fixtures include the fifth Champions matchday (24–25 November) sandwiched between Parma and Monza encounters, and a notably tight sixth Champions round (8–9 December) positioned between Bologna away and the Derby della Capitale against Lazio on 13 December. January continues the pattern with two Champions matches: one on 18–19 January after Atalanta away and before Roma–Udinese, and the final group-stage fixture on 27 January following the Udinese clash. The condensed schedule requires careful squad rotation and tactical preparation across both competitions.