Pellegrini contract talks show progress as Juventus interest dismissed

Roma will face Genoa on Saturday at 20:45 in their seventh Serie A fixture. The Italian league has appointed referee Abisso to take charge of the match, with assistants Tegoni and Miniutti on the sidelines and Collu as fourth official. The fixture comes as Roma shift focus from their Champions League commitments. Genoa are managed by Daniele De Rossi, the former Roma manager. The full refereeing team for the Saturday evening kick-off has been confirmed ahead of the week's Serie A action.

Roma will face Daniele De Rossi and Genoa on Saturday at 20.45 at the Olimpico, with referee Abisso in charge. Abisso holds a strong record against Roma: seven wins, two draws and no defeats across previous encounters. However, his name has been at the centre of several disputes over the years. In 2022 Abisso was involved in controversy when Jose Mourinho protested after a Nicolò Zaniolo goal was ruled out in Roma's match against Genoa, which ended 0-0. A more recent flashpoint came during Atalanta's match against Roma in 2025, when Claudio Ranieri's side disputed an incident involving a penalty. Referee Sozza had initially awarded a spot-kick for contact between Pasalic and Koné, then revoked it after consultation with the VAR—Abisso—a decision Ranieri felt was improper, arguing that Abisso should not have been able to intervene in that way. Pairetto will operate as VAR on Saturday, with Tengoni and Miniutti assigned as assistant referees.

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.

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.

Gian Piero Gasperini has named his squad for Roma's Champions League League Phase match against Real Madrid this evening at the Olimpico, with 23 players available. Mile Svilar is unavailable due to a fractured finger, leaving Pierluigi Gollini, Giorgio De Marzi and Devis Vásquez as the goalkeepers in contention. Konstantinos Koulierakis has returned to full training in recent days and is regularly available for selection. Bryan Cristante, however, remains unavailable. The squad spans all four outfield positions, with defenders including Devyne Rensch, Evan N'Dicka, Nahuel Molina, Mario Hermoso, Gianluca Mancini, Leonardo Balerdi, Wesley, Emanuele Lulli and Daniele Ghilardi; midfielders Lorenzo Pellegrini, Marten de Roon, Manu Koné, Niccolò Pisilli and Rodrigo Mora; and forwards Santiago Castro, Donyell Malen, Matías Soulé and Paulo Dybala.

Gian Piero Gasperini has named his squad for Roma's Champions League League Phase match against Real Madrid at the Stadio Olimpico this evening at 21:00. Konstantinos Koulierakis is fit and available, while goalkeeper Devis Vásquez has been included in the Champions League squad following Mile Svilar's injury, utilising the temporary replacement rule provided under UEFA regulations. Both Svilar and Bryan Cristante remain absent. The full squad list names Vásquez, De Marzi and Gollini as goalkeepers; Rensch, Koulierakis, N'Dicka, Molina, Hermoso, Mancini, Balerdi, Wesley, Lulli and Ghilardi in defence; Pellegrini, De Roon, Koné, Pisilli and Mora in midfield; and Castro, Malen, Soulé and Dybala in attack.

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.

Gian Piero Gasperini has named his squad for Roma's Champions League League Phase match against Real Madrid this evening at the Olimpico, with 23 players available. Mile Svilar is unavailable due to a fractured finger, leaving Pierluigi Gollini, Giorgio De Marzi and Devis Vásquez as the goalkeepers in contention. Konstantinos Koulierakis has returned to full training in recent days and is regularly available for selection. Bryan Cristante, however, remains unavailable. The squad spans all four outfield positions, with defenders including Devyne Rensch, Evan N'Dicka, Nahuel Molina, Mario Hermoso, Gianluca Mancini, Leonardo Balerdi, Wesley, Emanuele Lulli and Daniele Ghilardi; midfielders Lorenzo Pellegrini, Marten de Roon, Manu Koné, Niccolò Pisilli and Rodrigo Mora; and forwards Santiago Castro, Donyell Malen, Matías Soulé and Paulo Dybala.

Gian Piero Gasperini has named his squad for Roma's Champions League League Phase match against Real Madrid at the Stadio Olimpico this evening at 21:00. Konstantinos Koulierakis is fit and available, while goalkeeper Devis Vásquez has been included in the Champions League squad following Mile Svilar's injury, utilising the temporary replacement rule provided under UEFA regulations. Both Svilar and Bryan Cristante remain absent. The full squad list names Vásquez, De Marzi and Gollini as goalkeepers; Rensch, Koulierakis, N'Dicka, Molina, Hermoso, Mancini, Balerdi, Wesley, Lulli and Ghilardi in defence; Pellegrini, De Roon, Koné, Pisilli and Mora in midfield; and Castro, Malen, Soulé and Dybala in attack.

Roma's full-backs have become a cornerstone of Gian Piero Gasperini's push to the top of Serie A, a marked shift from last season when they proved problematic. Wesley and Nahuel Molina are now among the club's key strengths, and both will start when Roma resume the league campaign against Como, where they will face manager Fabregas. The turnaround reflects Gasperini's tactical evolution since arriving at the club: in his first season, Wesley was the only defender fully convincing on the flanks, while Zeki Çelik had to make do elsewhere. Now the picture is entirely different. Gasperini has uncovered Emanuele Lulli in the course of the season, and Molina has gradually built his fitness, delivering quality and assists to Roma's attacking phase. For the Como fixture, Gasperini plans to deploy Molina on the right and Wesley on the left. The selection reflects not just Roma's attacking ambitions but also Gasperini's defensive strategy: by using two attacking full-backs, he aims to stretch Como's wide players—Baturina on one flank and Diao on the other—and occupy them throughout the match. Wesley, the more naturally offensive of the pair, will be tasked with driving forward and supporting the build-up play. Molina is likely to carry greater defensive responsibility, balancing his own contributions with the need to contain Como's threats on the wing.

Gian Piero Gasperini will deploy Nahuel Molina and Wesley as twin wingers in Roma's visit to Como, harnessing simultaneous attacking thrust down both flanks to counter Cesc Fabregas's side. With Molina fully recovered and Wesley in continued form, Roma will field two genuine wide operators capable of delivering width, high pressing and chances for the attacking midfielders. The tactical choice targets Como's possession-based play built around Baturina and Diao's unpredictability; Molina and Wesley are instructed to close down Como's wide references and attacking midfielders immediately, forcing them away from build-up play into long balls. In possession, the overlapping runs of Molina and Wesley will create lateral chains with Paulo Dybala and Matías Soulé, opening space for crosses and inside passes. Last season Roma's right wing relied solely on Wesley alongside the converted Zeki Çelik, but the club now possesses one of Serie A's strongest selections of wide midfielders. Gasperini's side has already created thirteen goalscoring actions from wide midfielders this season—second in the league behind Inter's fourteen. Wesley leads with seven goal contributions, followed by Molina on four and eighteen-year-old Emanuele Lulli, an academy product promoted to the first team, who has added two decisive contributions and demonstrates the depth of alternatives available on the flanks. A key feature of Gasperini's system is the tactical flexibility of both players. Wesley and Molina can interchange wings during matches without loss of effectiveness, alternating deep play and crosses with cuts inside on their stronger foot to link with the attacking midfielders. This constant switching prevents opposing defences from finding fixed reference points and allows Roma to vary attacking approaches throughout the game.

Zeki Çelik produced a costly error in Turkey's match against Italy in Bursa, clearing a corner kick directly to Alessandro Bastoni, who opened the scoring for the Azzurri. Italy dominated the fixture in a redemptive performance after losing to Belgium on Friday. Çelik's mistake was immediately seized upon by social media users, with Roma supporters among those criticising the defender's display. One Roma fan wrote: "La spazza Celik" (Çelik the sweeper), while others joked about whether a 'Çelik-cam' video would emerge—a reference to footage released by DAZN following Çelik's first friendly for Juventus. The Turkish international has endured a difficult start to his spell in Serie A, facing criticism not only from Roma fans but also from his country's supporters.