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Fenerbahce vs Roma: TV channels, kickoff time and team news for Champions League opener
·8 September 2026·45d ago

Fenerbahce vs Roma: TV channels, kickoff time and team news for Champions League opener

Source: Il Messaggero – Roma

Roma return to the Champions League after seven years with a trip to Istanbul to face Fenerbahce on Thursday. The last time the club competed in Europe's premier competition was in 2019, when they lost to Porto in the round-of-16 second leg after extra time—2,742 days before this comeback. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has set the target of finishing in the top 24 of the league phase to secure a guaranteed spot in the playoff round and a path to the last 16. According to Gasperini's roadmap, Roma will need at least twelve points to guarantee their place in the playoffs.

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Story Coverage7 sources on this story

Roma launched their Champions League campaign against Fenerbahce on 10 September with Paulo Dybala and Devyne Rensch in the starting XI under coach Gian Piero Gasperini. The side lined up in a back three of Gianluca Mancini, Evan N'Dicka and Mario Hermoso, with Bryan Cristante and Manu Koné in midfield supporting Matías Soulé behind Dybala and Donyell Malen. Fenerbahce countered with Mason Greenwood among their attacking players. The fixture was refereed by Gil Manzano. Roma's Primavera side also opened their UEFA Youth League campaign at the same opponent earlier that day, kicking off at 13:00 in Turkey without Arena due to a physical issue, with coach Scala deploying an attacking trident of Paratici, Guaglianone and Falcetta.

Ahead of the tie, Gasperini emphasised maintaining Roma's identity against elite opposition. "We must have confidence to play with our characteristics, with a lot of attention and with the confidence of being able to put the opponent in difficulty," he said. The coach confirmed all players available except Lorenzo Pellegrini, expected back soon, and praised Dybala's recent form: "He is showing continuity. The start of this year is better compared to recent years." Gasperini acknowledged the demanding fixture schedule ahead—three matches this week followed by nine in one month after the international break—and stressed that rotations would prove fundamental to managing load without sacrificing performance.

Defender Mario Hermoso echoed the message at his press conference, referencing Roma's eight-game Serie A winning run: "The intensity and mentality will be the same we showed against Atalanta. For us it's important not to concede and put our strikers in a position to score." Roma will wear the World Food Programme logo on their shirts in place of their regular Eurobet.live sponsor due to Turkish restrictions, supporting Nepal's flood relief efforts. Match-worn shirts will be auctioned, with proceeds benefiting the World Food Programme.

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Testo Originale / Source Text

“Sono passati sette anni dall'ultima gara della Roma in Champions League. Era il match di ritorno degli ottavi di finale contro il Porto e da quella sconfitta ai supplementari sono passati 2742 giorni prima che i giallorossi potessero riabbracciare la competizione europea più importante. E ora il…”

Read the full article in Italian at Il Messaggero – Roma.

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