Di Michele on tonight's Torino clash: Gasperini has done great work, the group has strong awareness

Roma face Torino in Serie A on 14 September at 18:30, four days after their Champions League return, with head coach Gian Piero Gasperini managing squad rotation following the trip to Istanbul. The starting XI appears largely settled, though midfield and the right flank remain open questions. Svilar will start in goal, with the familiar trio of Mancini, Ndicka and Hermoso in defence; Ghilardi is the alternative. Wesley is expected to hold the left-back spot, while the right side is contested between Lulli and Rensch, with Lulli marginally favoured, though Gasperini indicated in his press conference that his condition would need to be assessed before the match. The main shift could come in midfield. Manu Koné picked up a knee problem against Fenerbahçe, opening the door for Nicolò Pisilli to partner Bryan Cristante; Koné has attempted recovery and remains an option. Dybala and Donyell Malen are set pieces in attack, with Matías Soulé the likely choice to complete the forward line, while Rodrigo Mora stands ready either from the start or as an in-match solution. The probable Roma formation is 3-4-2-1: Svilar; Mancini, Ndicka, Hermoso; Lulli, Cristante, Pisilli, Wesley; Soulé, Dybala; Malen.

Roma travel to Torino on Monday 14 September—exactly one year after Torino beat Roma 1–0 at the Olimpico on the same date in 2025, when Giovanni Simeone scored in the 59th minute. The story has reversed since: Roma won 2–0 at the Grande Torino on 18 January this year through goals from Donyell Malen and Paulo Dybala, a return to the scene with the roles inverted. Torino has become a hunting ground for the Giallorossi. Roma have scored in all of their last 16 away matches at the Grande Torino, amassing 23 goals across those fixtures. To find Roma's last goalless away trip to Turin requires going back to a 0–0 draw on 16 December 2007. In the last five Serie A meetings between the clubs, Torino have managed only one goal—Zapata's strike in a 1–1 draw in September 2023. The all-time head-to-head record in 91 official meetings still favours the hosts: 38 Torino wins, 32 draws and 21 Roma victories. Torino remain Roma's most-played opponent in Serie A with 162 fixtures, yet Roma have recorded more wins against them than any other side—72 victories. Gasperini's Roma arrive with attacking numbers unprecedented in the modern era. They have scored 10 goals in their opening three league matches, a new record in the three-points-for-a-win era. The previous best was nine goals, achieved in 2000–01, 2003–04, 2016–17 and 2021–22. Nine points from nine in the first three games has not been matched since 2021–22 and represents only the sixth time Roma have taken maximum points from their first three matches since 2000–01. Malen has been central to that form: in the 2026 calendar year, the Dutch forward is Serie A's leading goalscorer with 19 goals in 20 appearances, averaging a goal every 92 minutes across 1,754 minutes played. He scored in that January victory at Torino. In the dugout, Ignazio Abate and Gian Piero Gasperini face each other in an official match for the first time as managers.

Roma travel to Torino this afternoon under the cloud of another away-day travel ban for supporters based in Lazio, depriving the squad of its usual backing in the visiting section. The restriction leaves the environment caught between emotional turbulence and the tactical demands of the pitch. Roma's early season has shown how quickly opinion swings between enthusiasm and concern. A draw in the Champions League away from home can be read as valuable or as a drop in form depending on perspective, and individual performances are constantly weighed against isolated moments in matches. In an environment prone to sudden exaltation or scepticism, consistency of play and physical resilience become primary tools for holding course. Against this backdrop, Gian Piero Gasperini stands as the rational certainty and true added value of the capital club. The Piedmont-born coach has proven himself capable of motivating the group, adjusting tactical shape during play and managing absences without losing his team's identity. With Manu Koné unavailable in midfield, Gasperini has shown clarity in backing squad resources by deploying Niccolò Pisilli alongside Emanuele Lulli on the flank in a young, Roman-rooted axis. This composure will be essential to navigate the Torino obstacle without lapses in focus, before Roma turn to a demanding sequence of fixtures against Inter, Real Madrid and Como.

Roma face Torino in Serie A on 14 September at 18:30, four days after their Champions League return, with head coach Gian Piero Gasperini managing squad rotation following the trip to Istanbul. The starting XI appears largely settled, though midfield and the right flank remain open questions. Svilar will start in goal, with the familiar trio of Mancini, Ndicka and Hermoso in defence; Ghilardi is the alternative. Wesley is expected to hold the left-back spot, while the right side is contested between Lulli and Rensch, with Lulli marginally favoured, though Gasperini indicated in his press conference that his condition would need to be assessed before the match. The main shift could come in midfield. Manu Koné picked up a knee problem against Fenerbahçe, opening the door for Nicolò Pisilli to partner Bryan Cristante; Koné has attempted recovery and remains an option. Dybala and Donyell Malen are set pieces in attack, with Matías Soulé the likely choice to complete the forward line, while Rodrigo Mora stands ready either from the start or as an in-match solution. The probable Roma formation is 3-4-2-1: Svilar; Mancini, Ndicka, Hermoso; Lulli, Cristante, Pisilli, Wesley; Soulé, Dybala; Malen.

Roma travel to Turin on 14 September with their full squad available and Lorenzo Pellegrini in the matchday group for the first time this season after a lengthy absence. The squad selection remains fluid ahead of the fixture: the defence is expected to feature Gianluca Mancini, Evan N'Dicka and Mario Hermoso, but uncertainty persists across the flanks, midfield and attack. Emanuele Lulli, Devyne Rensch and Nahuel Molina are competing for a starting place on the right, while Niccolò Pisilli and Manu Koné are in contention alongside Bryan Cristante in the middle. Up front, Matías Soulé and Rodrigo Mora are head-to-head for selection, though Paulo Dybala and Donyell Malen are guaranteed starting positions. Roma carry an open run of eight consecutive Serie A victories into the match—five secured in the closing stages of last season and three in the opening rounds of the current campaign. Gian Piero Gasperini's side will pursue a ninth straight win to reclaim the league lead. The head coach faces a contrasting duel with opposing manager Ignazio Abate: Gasperini has 640 Serie A matches on his bench, placing him fifth in the all-time standings and closing in on Nils Liedholm's tally of 644. Abate, by contrast, is appearing in only his fourth Serie A match in charge. Roma Primavera, meanwhile, play at home today: at 15:00 they face Como at the Agostino Di Bartolomei ground in Trigoria, with coverage on Sportitalia. The youth side aim to remain unbeaten in the fourth matchday following a comeback victory in the Youth League against Fenerbahce. A starting confirmation is expected for Paratici with Morucci in attack, while Cama is highlighted among young players to watch closely.

Walter Sabatini, the legendary former Roma sporting director, has returned to football as a consultant at Pro Patria, the club where he finished his playing career 43 years ago. In an interview with Corriere della Sera, the 71-year-old reflected on his decision to re-enter the game and his enduring connection to Roma, where he recruited champions including Nainggolan, Dzeko, Pastore, Ilicic and Kolarov. Asked where he left his heart, Sabatini answered without hesitation: "Roma. It is my life, do not make me say anything else because I have developed a complex about being a boring man." On the prospect of working under Roma's current coach Gian Piero Gasperini, however, he was candid: "No. I have great admiration for his work as a coach but I would have come into collision course." Despite his age and health challenges, Sabatini said he feels the enthusiasm of his early days in the game. "Inside I feel the excitement of when I started working for Triestina and I was 39 years old," he said. "I would like to return to that phase of my life and create my own football laboratory." He acknowledged struggling at Pro Patria, where his dynamic ideas are not accommodated: "I need agility and speed. I am not hiding that I am finding myself uncomfortable and I do not want to waste my last years. I have entered the third, perhaps the fourth age." On evaluating talent, Sabatini insisted on trusting his eye rather than data analytics. "When I see a player I must feel something immediately at the first meeting. He must strike me like lightning. The only metric of evaluation I conceive is the eye, sensitivity, passion." Asked which player now moves him, he singled out Paulo Dybala: "A residual champion of our championship. In the Nineties we had Ronaldo, Platini, Rummenigge. Now of that lineage of phenomena, there is only Paulo in Serie A." He praised Como's Champions League debut display, saying the team displayed "a high level match proposing entertaining football and exalting its individuals." On the balance of power in Serie A, Sabatini noted that while "there is great euphoria in the Roma environment. A spiritual cohesion that makes everyone feel unbeatable," Inter stood above all others: "For the quality of the squad and depth of choices, Inter is a step above everyone." Sabatini expressed regret about his brief spell at Inter, saying he had been "a meteor—the inhabitants of the Earth did not even see me pass." He attributed the Nerazzurri's current strength to Chivu's pragmatism. Of himself, he reflected: "I am bulimic of life. A pity that my skeletal system does not assist my will. Every now and then I think back to my career and say to myself 'but you were an acrobat, not a sporting director'."