Roma face Genoa at the Olimpico after Real Madrid setback; De Rossi's side seek continuity

Napoli have been dealt another setback with midfielder Alisson Santos sustaining a new injury during their defeat to Venezia. The Brazilian, who had only recently returned to training with the squad after a previous problem, finished the match in discomfort and is in serious doubt for Saturday's visit to Roma. Manager Allegri explained the situation to DAZN: "He picked up a strain on the last shot. He'd been training with the team for 8 days, I don't have a crystal ball. It looks like he's done himself quite badly, we'll see." Allegri added that the midfielder had been out for some time before rejoining group training just over a week ago, making the fresh injury a frustrating development for the club.

Napoli suffered defeat at Venezia, who won 1–0 through a goal by Akor Adams in the 49th minute. The result follows a heavy Champions League loss to Villarreal under manager Allegri. Davide Nicola, in his debut after Stroppa's dismissal, claimed his first win for the club. Napoli's afternoon was compounded when De Bruyne missed a penalty at the 68th minute, saved by Stankovic. The loss leaves Napoli on 10 points from 7 matches, with three defeats already registered. Roma will host Napoli on Saturday.

Roma face Genoa at the Olimpico on 17 October at 20:45 in Serie A matchday seven, seeking to return to winning ways after consecutive draws against Inter and Como and a midweek defeat to Real Madrid. The side will be without five regular starters due to injury and suspension, forcing head coach Gian Piero Gasperini to call up four Primavera players to the squad. Rodrigo Mora, Matías Soulé and Santiago Castro are expected to lead the team in attack, with Emanuele Lulli also set to feature on the flank in place of Nahuel Molina. Gasperini's absence list is considerable: Donyell Malen is out through suspension, while Bryan Cristante, Paulo Dybala, Manu Koné and Mile Svilar are all sidelined by injury. The promoted academy players — Camara, Di Nunzio, Paratici and Arena — are included in the squad. Roma's defensive setup will see a choice between Leonardo Balerdi and Konstantinos Koulierakis to cover for Gianluca Mancini's absence, while Devyne Rensch takes the flank spot normally held by Molina. Genoa arrive under the management of Daniele De Rossi, Roma's former captain, who collected 616 appearances and 63 goals across his Roma career — second in the club's history behind Francesco Totti's 786. Roma are unbeaten in their last 23 Serie A home matches against Genoa, holding 19 victories and four draws; Genoa's last win at the Olimpico came in 1990. Genoa's sole recent success came on 8 March when they won their last head-to-head meeting, though they have not beaten Roma in consecutive fixtures since 2011. A third successive draw for Gasperini's side would match a run not seen since February 2022 under José Mourinho. The match will be broadcast live exclusively on DAZN and in co-broadcast on Sky Sport Calcio, Sky Go and Now TV.