
Roma host Sassuolo at the Olimpico as Koné returns to the bench and Mancini is ruled out
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.




