Gasperini wants a Champions League Roma, with Manchester United in crisis but a trap at Old Trafford

Roma travel to Old Trafford on Tuesday for their fourth league-phase Champions League match against Manchester United, kicking off at 21:00 on Tuesday 3 November. Gian Piero Gasperini's side arrive after a 4-0 win over Slovan Bratislava and have four points from their first three European games. Manchester United, managed by Michael Carrick, sit on three points after a home opening win over Sabah followed by defeats to Atletico Madrid and Como, the last of them a 4-1 loss at Como. Gasperini is expected to keep most of the side that has been settled in recent weeks. Gollini starts in goal, with Svilar not due back until after the international break. Mancini, who was rested at Udinese, is expected to return to the starting line-up alongside Ndicka and Hermoso. Molina and Wesley look ahead of Lulli and Rensch on the flanks. In midfield, Cristante and de Roon offer experience, physicality and balance in a game that will demand attention above all in transitions. The main doubt concerns the position behind the striker, where Mora, who scored against both Cagliari and Udinese, is competing with Pisilli. Soulé and Malen are confirmed; both were managed in the second half of the big win in Friuli with the European fixture in mind. Roma come into the match on a strong run. They beat Udinese 5-2 at the Bluenergy Stadium in the last Serie A round, with goals from Cristante, Mora, Malen and Ndicka, and Ghilardi scored his first league goal of the season in added time. That win lifted Roma to third place with 24 points. Before the trip to Udine they had won 4-2 against Cagliari, drawn 3-3 at Napoli and beaten Slovan Bratislava 4-0. In the Champions League they have collected four points from draws with Fenerbahce and a defeat to Real Madrid, plus the win over the Slovaks. Manchester United are in a much harder spell. On Saturday they lost 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to Chelsea, extending their run of matches without a win to nine. Their European campaign has also stalled. Mancini and Hermoso are the only Roma defenders named in the probable line-up, while United's probable side is built around Bruno Fernandes, with Lammens in goal, Dalot, Maguire, De Ligt and Lisandro Martinez in defence, and Baleba, Andrey Santos, Diallo and Cunha around him. Mbeumo leads the line. Carrick's side are without Ugarte, Šeško, Shaw and Dorgu, while Yoro is suspended. Rashford, Mazraoui and Amad Diallo are doubtful. Lisandro Martinez, sent off against Chelsea in the Premier League, can play in the Champions League because his suspension applies only to domestic competitions. Roma have no fit answer yet for four players. Svilar continues his recovery from a stress fracture to the fifth toe of his left foot, and his return has been put back until after the international break. Dybala will not be risked at Old Trafford after a small calf tear. Koné remains sidelined, and Pellegrini faces a longer absence because of the muscle injury he picked up against Slovan Bratislava. Gasperini can, however, count on Cristante, who is back available on a regular basis and again central to the midfield rotation. The probable Roma line-up is a 3-4-2-1, with a contest between Mancini and Balerdi and a call on Mora against Pisilli. Six official meetings have taken place between Manchester United and Roma in UEFA competitions. United have won four, Roma one, with one draw. Old Trafford brings back two painful nights for Roma: in April 2007 United won 7-1 in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final, and in 2021 they won 6-2 in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final. In the other meeting at Manchester, in the 2007-08 Champions League, the hosts won 1-0. The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sport channels and streamed via Sky Go and NOW. Kick-off is at 21:00 on Tuesday 3 November at Old Trafford. Official line-ups are due about an hour before kick-off and will be updated live.

Paulo Fonseca is poised to become the new head coach of Sporting Lisbon, according to Fabrizio Romano, who reports the former Roma and Milan boss has agreed terms with the Portuguese club. The 53-year-old, currently in charge of Lyon, was in the dugout for Lyon's 2-0 win over Angers on Sunday and broke down in tears after the victory. Lyon's win carried a farewell feel, although Fonseca gave little away. "Tomorrow I will be with the group, at the moment there is nothing. Sporting? It is a possibility," he said. According to Romano, Fonseca will take over from Rui Borges next week. The move would see him return to Portugal, where he will coach a club that Roma meet in the Champions League League Phase. Roma host Sporting at the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday 8 December, in the sixth matchday of the League Phase, so Fonseca will be back in the Italian capital just over a month from now. Fonseca previously coached Roma and Milan, and his return to the Olimpico will be a notable occasion for the Giallorossi as they prepare to face his new club in Europe's top competition.

Roma travelled to Manchester straight after a 5-2 win away at Udinese, with Tuesday's Champions League fourth-matchday fixture against Manchester United, coached by Carrick, set for 21:00. Roma trained in Udine earlier on the day of the win's aftermath before flying out to Manchester. The Giallorossi are in the middle of a busy run across league and cup football, and the trip to Old Trafford comes in the fourth round of the Champions League league phase. Gian Piero Gasperini's pre-match press conference is scheduled for domani, the day before the game, at 18:20 Italian time, with Marten de Roon alongside him. The final training session on the Old Trafford pitch is due around 19:00 local time. The programme for the eve of the match therefore brings together Gasperini's media duties, De Roon's presence at the press conference and a closed-door touch-up on the Old Trafford grass ahead of Tuesday's kickoff at 21:00.