Gasperini set to start Koné, Balerdi and N'Dicka against Sassuolo

Roma host Sassuolo at the Stadio Olimpico this evening in Serie A's eleventh matchday, looking to bounce back quickly from the painful comeback they suffered against Manchester United in the Champions League and to stay in the top reaches of the table. Gian Piero Gasperini's side are without Mile Svilar, Paulo Dybala, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Devyne Rensch, while Pierluigi Gollini is not yet fully fit and is expected to give way again to Devis Vásquez. Sassuolo, coached by Alberto Aquilani, arrive without Berardi and Volpato and after four consecutive league defeats. Gasperini is expected to keep Vásquez in goal, with Gianluca Mancini, Evan N'Dicka and Mario Hermoso in defence. Nahuel Molina is favoured on the right flank, while Matías Soulé and Rodrigo Mora are set to operate behind Donyell Malen up front. Manu Koné is back available and is expected to start. The probable Roma formation is a 3-4-2-1: Vásquez; Balerdi, N'Dicka, Hermoso; Molina, Cristante, Koné, Wesley; Soulé, Mora; Malen. The Roma bench lists De Marzi, Kilvinger, Ghilardi, Koulierakis, Lulli, De Roon, Pisilli, Di Nunzio, Castro, Arena and Maccaroni. Sassuolo line up in a 3-4-2-1 as well: Turati; Walukiewicz, Idzes, Candé; Cinquegrano, Matic, Thorstvedt, Doig; Esposito, Laurienté; Bowie. Their bench includes Muric, Satalino, Van der Brempt, Odenthal, Caleta-Car, Obrador, Ghion, Sulemana, Adzic, Lipani, Dominguez, Pierini and Skjellerup. The match is refereed by Di Bello of Brindisi, with Peretti and Scatragli as assistant referees, Abisso as fourth official, Pezzuto as VAR and Guida as assistant VAR.

Gian Piero Gasperini has been forced once again to turn to the Primavera for Roma's match against Sassuolo, calling up Valerio Maccaroni and Levente Kilvinger, born in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Arena will also be on the bench at the Olimpico, having scored for the Primavera in Youth League against Manchester United. The call-ups come as a result of numerous injuries. Goalkeeping has been hit particularly hard. Svilar has been out for several weeks, while Gollini has not yet recovered from the back problem he picked up before the Manchester United game. Vasquez starts in goal, with De Marzi and Kilvinger named among the substitutes. Kilvinger, a Hungarian goalkeeper born in 2009, arrived in the capital in 2025 and is the first-choice goalkeeper for the Primavera under Mattia Scala. His side recently drew with Manchester United in Youth League. Senior football is not new to him: before moving to Trigoria, he made five appearances for Pécsi MFC in the Hungarian third division in 2025. Those performances caught Roma's attention, and the club was ready to bet on the young talent, bringing him to Roma at the end of that season.

Gian Piero Gasperini is looking to his youth ranks to widen his options, with two Primavera players set to be called up to the first-team squad for Roma's Serie A match against Sassuolo, the eleventh matchday fixture. Injuries and a congested fixture schedule have pushed the coach to draw on the Primavera squad, giving some of its most promising players a chance to step closer to the first team. Among the new names on the matchday squad list is Valerio Maccaroni, a midfielder born in Rome on 3 June 2008. The 1.74-metre player is one of the most versatile members of the Primavera. His natural role is attacking midfielder, but he has also been used as a box-to-box midfielder and an offensive winger as he has developed. His main qualities are technique, vision and the ability to move between the lines, which allow him to adapt to different tactical systems. Maccaroni progressively earned space in the Primavera after his time in the lower youth categories. In the 2025/26 season he stood out for his ability to help build play, winning consistent starts. He has also worn the shirts of Italy's youth national teams up to the Under-19 level, taking part in the Under-17 European Championship and the 2025 Under-17 World Cup, which Italy finished in third place. This season he has continued his development, and was deployed in midfield in the recent Youth League clash with Manchester United, which ended 1-1. The Sassuolo fixture marks his first call-up to the first-team squad. The other new face is Levente Kilvinger, a Hungarian goalkeeper born on 20 March 2009. At 17 he is part of the Roma Primavera, where he is gaining experience both in the league for his age group and in European competition. For the 2026/27 season he has been included in Roma's list for the UEFA Youth League, in which he has already played in goal. Kilvinger defended the Roma goal in the away game against Manchester United on 3 November in the Youth League, which finished 1-1. It is an important international experience for a player who is still very young and continuing his development.

Roma host Sassuolo at the Stadio Olimpico this evening in Serie A's eleventh matchday, looking to bounce back quickly from the painful comeback they suffered against Manchester United in the Champions League and to stay in the top reaches of the table. Gian Piero Gasperini's side are without Mile Svilar, Paulo Dybala, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Devyne Rensch, while Pierluigi Gollini is not yet fully fit and is expected to give way again to Devis Vásquez. Sassuolo, coached by Alberto Aquilani, arrive without Berardi and Volpato and after four consecutive league defeats. Gasperini is expected to keep Vásquez in goal, with Gianluca Mancini, Evan N'Dicka and Mario Hermoso in defence. Nahuel Molina is favoured on the right flank, while Matías Soulé and Rodrigo Mora are set to operate behind Donyell Malen up front. Manu Koné is back available and is expected to start. The probable Roma formation is a 3-4-2-1: Vásquez; Balerdi, N'Dicka, Hermoso; Molina, Cristante, Koné, Wesley; Soulé, Mora; Malen. The Roma bench lists De Marzi, Kilvinger, Ghilardi, Koulierakis, Lulli, De Roon, Pisilli, Di Nunzio, Castro, Arena and Maccaroni. Sassuolo line up in a 3-4-2-1 as well: Turati; Walukiewicz, Idzes, Candé; Cinquegrano, Matic, Thorstvedt, Doig; Esposito, Laurienté; Bowie. Their bench includes Muric, Satalino, Van der Brempt, Odenthal, Caleta-Car, Obrador, Ghion, Sulemana, Adzic, Lipani, Dominguez, Pierini and Skjellerup. The match is refereed by Di Bello of Brindisi, with Peretti and Scatragli as assistant referees, Abisso as fourth official, Pezzuto as VAR and Guida as assistant VAR.

Roma return to Serie A action at the Stadio Olimpico against Sassuolo, looking to bounce back from their Champions League defeat at Manchester and to record a third consecutive league win. Sassuolo, coached by former Roma player Alberto Aquilani, arrive on the back of four consecutive defeats. Gian Piero Gasperini regains Manu Koné, who returns to the squad after more than 20 days out and will start on the bench, but he is without Gianluca Mancini, who is sidelined with a muscle strain and will also miss the national team fixtures. Paulo Dybala, Mile Svilar and Pierluigi Gollini remain unavailable. Devis Vásquez keeps his place in goal. Roma's starting XI is Vásquez; Balerdi, N'Dicka, Hermoso; Molina, Koné, Cristante, Wesley; Soulé, Mora; Malen. Gasperini's bench includes De Marzi, Kilvinger, Koulierakis, Ghilardi, Lulli, De Roon, Pisilli, Castro, Maccaroni and Arena. Sassuolo line up in a 4-3-3 with Turati in goal, supported by Walukiewicz, Idzes, Odenthal, Doig; Bakola, Matic, Thorstvedt; Dominguez, Esposito and Laurienté. Aquilani's options include Muric, Satalino, Candé, Berardi, Sulemana and Pierini. The match is the eleventh round of Serie A Enilive. Kick-off is at 20:45. Di Bello of Brindisi referees, assisted by Peretti and Scatragli, with Abisso as fourth official, Pezzuto as VAR and Guida as AVAR. The game is broadcast live and exclusively on DAZN, with co-exclusive coverage on Sky, and is also available on Sky Sport Calcio, Sky Go and streaming on Now. Roma go into the fixture with the head-to-head record on their side. They have been unbeaten in 22 of 24 Serie A meetings with Sassuolo (13 wins, 9 draws, 2 defeats) and have won all of the last four. Sassuolo have won only one of their 12 trips to the Olimpico. Roma are also one of four teams still unbeaten across Europe's top five leagues. Their 28 goals are the most they have ever scored in the first ten rounds of Serie A. Donyell Malen leads the line and is the top scorer across Europe's top five leagues in calendar year 2026 with 22 goals, ahead of Raphinha and Harry Kane on 21 each. Rodrigo Mora, who scored against Cagliari and Udinese, is aiming to score in a third consecutive appearance, a feat not previously achieved by a Porto or Roma player.

Roma head coach Gian Piero Gasperini will be without centre-back Gianluca Mancini for this evening's match against Sassuolo, after the defender picked up a muscle strain in his right hip flexor. The injury adds to a growing list of absences for Roma, following the unavailability of Svilar, Gollini, Rensch, Dybala and Pellegrini. The problem is not considered serious. Mancini trained normally with his teammates yesterday, but he does not yet feel ready to play, and Gasperini has decided not to risk him. Roma's selection for the fixture is therefore a choice between Daniele Ghilardi and Leonardo Balerdi to fill the centre-back spot Mancini would have occupied. Mancini will not be in the Italy squad for the forthcoming matches against France and Belgium, which gives him the international break to recover fully. The break offers him a chance to return to full fitness before Roma's next fixtures.