Gasperini sticks to one-striker system; Castro and Malen will not play together

Gian Piero Gasperini has a full squad to select from as Roma prepare for their upcoming match against Inter, with Mario Hermoso back available after injury. The head coach spent time on personal grooming today, getting a new haircut in the lead-up to what is already shaping up as a heavyweight fixture worth far more than three points. A photo shared by his barber on social media quickly circulated among Roma fans. Gasperini will make his final selection decisions in the coming hours. His barber, Gennaro, posted about the visit: "When the boss comes by, there's not much to say. Even the details make the difference. See you next time."

Roma have no injury concerns over Mario Hermoso ahead of Saturday's big match against Inter, with the defender set to be available for Gasperini to deploy against Chivu's attack. Hermoso will line up alongside Gianluca Mancini, with Leonardo Balerdi candidating for a starting spot after impressing in early appearances and set to compete with Evan N'Dicka for the centre-back role in the coming days. Gasperini is preparing multiple tactical options for the fixture. Emanuele Lulli could feature to counter Dimarco's threat, while Niccolò Pisilli might operate in a more advanced role on the trequarti, and Nahuel Molina could be deployed on the left wing. In a wide-ranging interview, the Roma head coach addressed the scudetto ambition, saying: "It is not this way of raising the bar. The bar is not raised by setting more or less achievable objectives: it is raised by improving every day, working on ourselves through this variety of players with all their own characteristics, trying to do better each time. Objectives can only be discussed after about twenty matches."

Gian Piero Gasperini has urged Roma to focus on daily improvement rather than chase trophy talk after a perfect start to the season. Speaking to Sky Sport ahead of the Inter fixture, the coach said: "I hoped for it more than I expected it. Today we are a squad that knows itself better than at the start of last season and we have already assimilated many things." On title ambitions, he was emphatic: "The bar does not rise by setting objectives, but by improving every day. You can only talk of targets after around twenty matches." Gasperini praised Leonardo Balerdi's immediate impact as a professional "ready to contribute straight away" and highlighted the group's balance: "The young players bring freshness, the more experienced are an example every day. It is a squad that feeds itself." Mario Hermoso trained fully with the group on 17 September after undergoing differentiated work the previous day for a mild ankle contusion, and is on course to be available for the match against Inter on Saturday 19 September at 18:00 at the Stadio Olimpico. Gasperini spoke of upcoming fixtures against Inter, Como and Real Madrid, saying: "We have earned the chance to face these teams. They will be important matches to understand what we are truly capable of." Rodrigo Mora, who arrived from Porto in the summer, has already won over supporters. The Portuguese midfielder scored his first Serie A goal against Lecce and told Sky Sport of his reasons for joining: "Roma is a very prestigious club and the style of play it proposes was one of the main reasons why I chose to come. Playing in the Champions League is an important step for my career." On his relationship with Gasperini, Mora added: "He is a very demanding coach with the whole squad, but that pushes you to grow every day." Reflecting on his first goal in giallorosso colours, he said: "It was a special moment. I like to score, but my aim is above all to help the team with goals, assists and everything needed to win."

Radio Roma commentators have weighed Roma's prospects ahead of the Champions League fixture against Inter, with widespread acknowledgement that Donyell Malen has become the team's most decisive attacking threat. The debate centred on whether Roma can sustain a title challenge without fresh recruitment, and how Santiago Castro's early impact shapes the club's forward planning. Piero Torri suggested Roma would have wrapped up the season had Greenwood and Moreira been signed, implying regret over unfinished transfer business. David Rossi stated: "We can play football without Malen. If someone came in with a serious bid—say 120 to 130 million—we could sell him this summer at 130 million and win the Scudetto." Fabio Petruzzi countered that Castro's presence provides preparation for Malen's potential departure: "You've already prepared for this eventuality with Castro behind him. He's not the same, but Castro is a serious striker." Petruzzi also raised concern over other managerial positions, mentioning Juric and Amorim as under pressure. Malen's output drew repeated emphasis: Gianluca Piacentini noted his 20 goals in 22 appearances as decisive form. Lorenzo Pes explained Gasperini's tendency to substitute Malen late in matches because "he gives everything on the pitch, participates totally in every action," and confirmed Castro comes off the bench in the final half-hour. Alessio Nardo stressed Roma needs goals beyond Malen: "If Roma wants to raise the level it must combine other goals from the attackers with Malen's." Roberto Pruzzo declared Roma's defence superior to Inter's and highlighted the twin attacking threat as "a guarantee," while Nando Orsi countered that Inter remains "overwhelmingly strong" and questioned whether Roma should be favoured: "They're level on points, both have suffered in two Champions League matches." Checco Oddo Casano observed that fitness coach D'Amico now works pitch-side alongside coach Gasperini, contrasting with last season when Ranieri and Massara watched from a raised terrace—a structural change he interpreted as reflecting the relationship between technical staff and management at the club. The fixture with Inter will provide the first substantive test of Roma's credentials at the top level this season.

Paulo Dybala has been invited by the Argentine Football Federation to attend a special celebration honouring Lionel Messi on 6 October, when Argentina face Benin in a friendly. The event will serve as a broader tribute to Messi's career, marking the end of his time with the national team. Dybala and Messi won the World Cup together in Qatar and shared years competing for the Albiceleste. Dybala's attendance remains uncertain, however, due to fixture congestion. Just five days after the Messi tribute on 6 October, Roma will travel to Como in a Serie A fixture. The club must balance player recovery time during the international break with the demands of the upcoming league match, leaving Dybala's departure for Argentina not yet confirmed. Defender Nahuel Molina is also listed among potential invitees to the celebration. Other Roma players called up by Argentina for the same window face a different situation: Santiago Castro, Matías Soulé and Leonardo Balerdi have all been officially included in head coach Scaloni's squad list and will participate in the Argentina gathering as normal.

Paulo Dybala has been invited by the Argentine Football Federation to attend Lionel Messi's farewell match on 6 October, when Argentina face Benin. Dybala was not selected in the squad by coach Lionel Scaloni for the celebration, but has nonetheless received an invitation from the federation to say goodbye to the player alongside whom he won a World Cup and played numerous matches for the national team. Dybala's attendance remains uncertain, however, because Como play Roma just five days later. The fixture clash means the Giallorossi's forward may not be available for the international commitment. Other Roma players have clearer paths: Nahuel Molina may also attend, while Santiago Castro, Matías Soulé and Leonardo Balerdi are all confirmed in Scaloni's squad and will feature in the fixture.

Andrea Stramaccioni, a former manager of both Roma and Inter, praised Gian Piero Gasperini's tactical intensity and winning mentality in a radio interview, describing him as having been a force to reckon with even in his early years as a coach. Stramaccioni first encountered Gasperini when the Roma boss was managing Crotone. "He was a fury," Stramaccioni recalled. "I didn't know him personally, but I started following opponents for the first-team coach. He played 3-4-3, an ultra-offensive style. In the lower divisions that system is devastating because you find fewer strong individual players in the opposition—it's a dominant system. He had a vertical rise, reaching Serie B with Crotone. I witnessed and understood his mentality. He fought battles of mentality even with the board and Crotone's president—he didn't want to travel by coach for four hours to play in Campania but preferred flying, and would rather buy one fewer player to improve the mentality, a word that encompasses many values." Stramaccioni described how Gasperini has evolved since then. "He's gotten worse positively," Stramaccioni said with a laugh. "He's an absolute hammer and I'm not surprised by Roma's results. Then I met him again professionally at Inter—I was the Primavera coach in 2011 when he became the first-team manager." The two will now face off when Roma play Inter on Saturday. Stramaccioni predicted tactical adjustments from Gasperini, saying: "Generally Mister Gasperini does that. He'll find an Inter with Zielinski in front of the defence. Malen on the right flank, Dybala on Bastoni and then another player on Zielinski. We'll see on Saturday."

Gian Piero Gasperini has refused to set title ambitions after Roma's opening four consecutive victories, insisting that realistic objectives can only be discussed after roughly 20 matches. Speaking to Sky Sport Insider, the coach acknowledged the city's dreams but grounded expectations in reality: "The reality is that objectives can be discussed only after about twenty matches. Setting them after four or five makes no sense. We certainly have confidence, certainly we want to be high in the table, but at this moment this is the only concrete objective." Gasperini defended his squad's trajectory by noting that Roma began the season with significant advantages over last year's opener. "We had the conviction of having good preparation behind us, and a squad that started advantaged compared to the beginning of last season: we have been together longer, we know each other better, many things we have already assimilated," he said. He highlighted younger players including Emanuele Lulli, Niccolò Pisilli and Daniele Ghilardi, praising their hunger and willingness to learn. On Leonardo Balerdi's impact, Gasperini noted the Argentine defender had delivered "immediately positive" form despite completing only partial preparation with the club, drawing a comparison to Franco Baresi for his recovery speed, intensity in challenges, and composure in building play. Gasperini outlined the complementary nature of Paulo Dybala and Donyell Malen: "Their characteristics fit together well. Dybala has the capacity to read Malen's runs even when it seems he is not looking at him, and the quality with which he serves him is remarkable. Malen for his part has an extraordinary capacity to convert into goals actions that seem simple but are not. It is a combination that works." He reflected on Roma's return to the Champions League after seven years, describing it as not assured: "The Champions League forces you to overcome obstacles, gives you the opportunity to play against Europe's best teams, puts you against a more difficult and complicated football from which you can grow." When asked to identify flaws, Gasperini said: "The big defects we have eliminated." He credited the unity among environment, squad, supporters and the board as the club's greatest strength, and acknowledged the broader social environment's influence on results as deeply positive.

Donyell Malen has become one of Europe's most prolific strikers at Roma, a dramatic shift from his time as a fringe player at Aston Villa that has drawn attention from the British media. The BBC has analysed how the Dutch forward escaped a struggling Premier League career to become a central figure in Roma's attack, with his output and tactical role transformed entirely under Gasperini. Malen's numbers tell the story of a career reborn. In the Premier League, he managed 10 goals in 46 appearances, often deployed on the wing or used as a central striker only intermittently. At Roma, he has scored 21 goals in 25 appearances and stands as the best goalscorer of 2026 across Europe's top five leagues, ahead of Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal. The key difference is tactical: Gasperini has deployed him almost exclusively through the centre of attack, allowing him to maximise his speed, instinct and finishing. His goal rate has improved dramatically from one goal every 150 minutes to one every 96 minutes. Malen's resurgence has continued unbroken even after a underwhelming World Cup campaign. Upon returning to Roma, he immediately resumed scoring and driving the team forward. The club has not simply recovered a talent, but unlocked his best version and returned him to the centre of European football's stage.