Mourinho and Gasperini featured in Testaccio mural ahead of Roma-Real Madrid

Roma face Real Madrid at the Olimpico on 15 October at 21:00 in the second matchday of the UEFA Champions League league phase. The fixture marks the return of Champions League football to the Olimpico after seven years and will be broadcast on Prime Video. José Mourinho returns to manage Real Madrid against his former club. Gasperini has two unavailable players for the match: Bryan Cristante and Mile Svilar are omitted from the squad list. Konstantinos Koulierakis has recovered from a contusion sustained on international duty and returns to selection. Paulo Dybala suffered a hand problem when he departed Roma's previous match against Como but has no concerns ahead of this fixture. Pierluigi Gollini will start in goal, with Devis Vásquez reintegrated into the Champions League squad list. Roma's starting XI will be Gollini in goal behind a three-defender line of Gianluca Mancini, Evan N'Dicka and Mario Hermoso. Wesley plays right-back to handle Real Madrid's pace, while Devyne Rensch takes the left-back slot in a surprise tactical choice over Nahuel Molina. Manu Koné and Marten de Roon fill the midfield, with Matías Soulé deployed behind Paulo Dybala and Donyell Malen in attack. Real Madrid, managed by Mourinho, line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and arrive after beating Inter 2-1 in their opening league-phase match. Roma drew 1-1 at home against Fenerbahce in their first game. The head referee is Letexier from France, with Higler from the Netherlands as VAR. Historically, Real Madrid lead the fixture record with eight victories to Roma's three, with one draw between them. Real Madrid have scored 24 goals and Roma nine across their meetings. Roma's last victory came in the 2007–08 Champions League last-16 tie, when they won 2-1 both at the Bernabéu and at home.

Gian Piero Gasperini has named his squad for Roma's Champions League league-phase match against Real Madrid, kick-off 21:00 this evening. Konstantinos Koulierakis returns to the travelling party, while Devis Vásquez is included among the goalkeepers. The squad list features 24 players across all four positions. In defence, Gasperini has selected Devyne Rensch, Koulierakis, Evan N'Dicka, Nahuel Molina, Mario Hermoso, Gianluca Mancini, Leonardo Balerdi, Wesley, Emanuele Lulli and Daniele Ghilardi. Midfield options comprise Lorenzo Pellegrini, Marten de Roon, Manu Koné, Niccolò Pisilli and Rodrigo Mora. The forward line includes Santiago Castro, Donyell Malen, Matías Soulé and Paulo Dybala.

Roma face Real Madrid at the Olimpico in their first major Champions League night, with Gasperini having settled most of his starting decisions ahead of kickoff. The only remaining selection question concerns the right-back position, where Rensch holds the advantage over Molina. Koulierakis has recovered from his injury and will be available, though he will start on the bench. Vásquez is included in the squad as backup cover in the absence of Svilar, while Cristante is also unavailable. The squad list confirms 14 outfield players and three goalkeepers have been named for the match. Vásquez, De Marzi and Gollini make up the goalkeeper contingent. The defence includes Rensch, Koulierakis, N'Dicka, Molina, Hermoso, Mancini, Balerdi, Wesley, Lulli and Ghilardi. Midfield is covered by Pellegrini, De Roon, Koné, Pisilli and Mora. The attack features Castro, Malen, Soulé and Dybala.