Roma Flash: Cristante sidelined, Mora catching Gasperini's eye ahead of Como trip

Roma are close to securing a contract renewal with Emanuele Lulli after the defender emerged as a standout performer in the club's opening weeks of the 2026-27 season. Lulli impressed Gasperini during a pre-season friendly against Dortmund in mid-August, confirming his credentials for the campaign ahead. The club is now moving to tie down his future. With Lulli's contract set to expire in 2027, Roma's management and the player's representatives are in final negotiations. The proposed deal would extend his terms until 2031 on a salary of €500,000 annually, with performance bonuses to increase the package further.

Como and Roma will take the field at the Sinigaglia with a combined squad representing thirteen different nationalities, a striking illustration of Serie A's globalization. Among the twenty-two starting players, Gianluca Mancini could be the only Italian on the pitch, a detail that underscores how heavily Italian clubs now lean on international recruitment. The match will pit Cesc Fabregas's Como side, built around a Spanish core including Milla, Ramon, Valle and Roma's Mario Hermoso, against Gian Piero Gasperini's Roma—a tactical and mental duel of the highest calibre. The broader context reveals that nearly 72 per cent of players deployed across Serie A so far this season are foreign, confirming the league's decisive shift towards international profiles. Both Como and Roma maintain some of the youngest average ages in Italian football despite their cosmopolitan squads. The encounter promises individual battles throughout the pitch: Wesley and Couto's pace against the craft of Paulo Dybala and Nico Paz. With international breaks forcing late team evaluations, Gasperini faces decisions including a possible move to deploy young Rodrigo Mora in an attacking midfield role. The Sinigaglia is preparing to reveal the true alternative to Inter in the title race.

Roman radio stations offer their verdicts on Roma's upcoming fixture against Como, with opinion split on Gasperini's midfield selection. Simone Valdarchi from Radio Manà Manà suggested that whether Gasperini opts for Pellegrini or Rodrigo Mora will not represent a defensive choice, but rather depend on each player's willingness to press Como's build-up play from the start. Roberto Pruzzo of Radio Radio Mattino flagged the Champions League context as a conditioning factor for both sides, noting that a long international break brings uncertainty and that reaching +6 on Fabregas's Como would be significant for Roma. Mario Mattioli, also of Radio Radio Mattino, dismissed concerns about midfielder Marten de Roon. "I don't understand the doubts about de Roon," Mattioli said. "He is an inexhaustible engine in midfield." Mattioli acknowledged Como as a strong team but stressed that Roma's squad carries greater experience overall. He characterised the Giallorossi as flying on the wings of enthusiasm despite some organisational gaps in certain areas of the squad. The discourse reflects the prominence of Rome's radio culture, which hosts a unique ecosystem of stations, journalists, former players and opinion-formers who shape debate around the club in ways unmatched elsewhere in Italy.

Roma face a relentless stretch of nine matches in 28 days with no break, forcing coach Gian Piero Gasperini to deploy his full squad after limiting rotation heavily in the opening weeks. The campaign begins on Sunday with a top-of-the-table fixture against Como, followed within nine days by an encounter with Genoa and then Slovan Bratislava, Napoli, Cagliari, Udinese, Manchester United and Parma. Five of the nine fixtures will be away from home, with minimal recovery time between matches. Gasperini will be without Bryan Cristante for at least another week, but the rest of the squad is available. The first significant change will see Marten de Roon make his competitive debut. The most anticipated rotations will come in attack and midfield. Santiago Castro has featured sparingly while Donyell Malen remains in excellent form, but cannot play every game. In the attacking midfield positions, Matías Soulé, Rodrigo Mora and Lorenzo Pellegrini are all fit and ready; Soulé has been the most frequently used of the three so far this season, Mora has sat on the bench three times in succession, and Pellegrini has not appeared since April but is at full fitness. Gasperini will assess Rodrigo's training performance before deciding the team for Sunday—the Argentine trained in a recovery session on 8 October. The manager is leaning towards starting Mora at Como, deploying Soulé in the following match against Real Madrid, and selecting Pellegrini for the Genoa fixture. Such rotations are necessary given the congested fixture list.

Rodrigo Mora is in line to start on the trequarti for Roma's trip to Como on Sunday, having impressed with Portugal Under 21 with a goal and an assist across three matches. Matías Soulé will train with the main group for the first time on 9 October, while Lorenzo Pellegrini returns after six months out through injury. Mora started today against Sorianese, putting him ahead of both teammates in the pecking order according to Sky Sport. Pellegrini featured in the second half of that friendly. The forward pairing of Donyell Malen and Paulo Dybala is unchanged. At the back, Evan N'Dicka is favored over Leonardo Balerdi, while Marten de Roon steps in midfield in place of the injured Bryan Cristante.

Roma travel to Como on Sunday at 12:30 with the aim of maintaining their position at the top of the table. Gian Piero Gasperini has confirmed that Donyell Malen and Wesley are fully fit after both featured in a friendly played today, recovering from earlier absences. Gasperini has minor doubts in defence but expects to field Gianluca Mancini, Evan N'Dicka and Mario Hermoso as his back three, with Leonardo Balerdi pushing for a place after returning from a trip overseas. Marten de Roon will replace Bryan Cristante in midfield alongside Manu Koné, while Nahuel Molina and Wesley occupy the flanks. Rodrigo Mora is set to start as an attacking midfielder, ahead of Paulo Dybala and Lorenzo Pellegrini, with Donyell Malen leading the line. Roma's probable formation: Svilar; Mancini, N'Dicka, Hermoso; Molina, Koné, De Roon, Wesley; Dybala, Rodrigo Mora; Malen.

Como and Roma will take the field at the Sinigaglia with a combined squad representing thirteen different nationalities, a striking illustration of Serie A's globalization. Among the twenty-two starting players, Gianluca Mancini could be the only Italian on the pitch, a detail that underscores how heavily Italian clubs now lean on international recruitment. The match will pit Cesc Fabregas's Como side, built around a Spanish core including Milla, Ramon, Valle and Roma's Mario Hermoso, against Gian Piero Gasperini's Roma—a tactical and mental duel of the highest calibre. The broader context reveals that nearly 72 per cent of players deployed across Serie A so far this season are foreign, confirming the league's decisive shift towards international profiles. Both Como and Roma maintain some of the youngest average ages in Italian football despite their cosmopolitan squads. The encounter promises individual battles throughout the pitch: Wesley and Couto's pace against the craft of Paulo Dybala and Nico Paz. With international breaks forcing late team evaluations, Gasperini faces decisions including a possible move to deploy young Rodrigo Mora in an attacking midfield role. The Sinigaglia is preparing to reveal the true alternative to Inter in the title race.

Roma travel to Como on Sunday at 12:30 with the aim of maintaining their position at the top of the table. Gian Piero Gasperini has confirmed that Donyell Malen and Wesley are fully fit after both featured in a friendly played today, recovering from earlier absences. Gasperini has minor doubts in defence but expects to field Gianluca Mancini, Evan N'Dicka and Mario Hermoso as his back three, with Leonardo Balerdi pushing for a place after returning from a trip overseas. Marten de Roon will replace Bryan Cristante in midfield alongside Manu Koné, while Nahuel Molina and Wesley occupy the flanks. Rodrigo Mora is set to start as an attacking midfielder, ahead of Paulo Dybala and Lorenzo Pellegrini, with Donyell Malen leading the line. Roma's probable formation: Svilar; Mancini, N'Dicka, Hermoso; Molina, Koné, De Roon, Wesley; Dybala, Rodrigo Mora; Malen.

Roma recorded the lowest minute tally among Serie A's top sides during the latest international break, accumulating 1,204 minutes across their squad members on national duty. AC Milan led the ranking with 2,625 minutes, followed by Inter on 2,352 and Napoli on 2,094. Roma's relatively modest figure reflects fewer players being called up for the four matches played by their national teams during this fixture congestion period. Rodrígo Mora topped Roma's minutes register for Portugal Under-21 with 225, ahead of Evan N'Dicka (Ivory Coast) on 187 and Gianluca Mancini (Italy) with 180. Niccolò Pisilli matched Mancini's total for Italy Under-21, while Manu Koné accumulated 152 minutes for France. The minutes spread unevenly across the squad: Konstantinos Koulierakis (Greece) played 90 minutes, Leonardo Balerdi (Argentina) 79, Matías Soulé (Argentina) 45, and Emanuele Lulli (Italy Under-21) 45. Santiago Castro (Argentina) featured for just 21 minutes, while Daniele Ghilardi (Italy) and Giorgio De Marzi (Italy youth) saw no action. In the broader Serie A comparison, Juventus recorded 1,772 minutes with Como on 1,587 and Lazio on 1,232. Among the top three, Milan's total was driven by players such as Jashari (Switzerland, 295 minutes), Pavlovic (Serbia, 275) and Ramos (Portugal, 275). Inter's Akanji (Switzerland) and Napoli's Lobotka (Slovakia) each played the maximum 360 minutes across their respective nations' campaigns. The international window has added significant load to players' schedules as calendars become increasingly congested with fixtures.

Como and Roma will take the field at the Sinigaglia with a combined squad representing thirteen different nationalities, a striking illustration of Serie A's globalization. Among the twenty-two starting players, Gianluca Mancini could be the only Italian on the pitch, a detail that underscores how heavily Italian clubs now lean on international recruitment. The match will pit Cesc Fabregas's Como side, built around a Spanish core including Milla, Ramon, Valle and Roma's Mario Hermoso, against Gian Piero Gasperini's Roma—a tactical and mental duel of the highest calibre. The broader context reveals that nearly 72 per cent of players deployed across Serie A so far this season are foreign, confirming the league's decisive shift towards international profiles. Both Como and Roma maintain some of the youngest average ages in Italian football despite their cosmopolitan squads. The encounter promises individual battles throughout the pitch: Wesley and Couto's pace against the craft of Paulo Dybala and Nico Paz. With international breaks forcing late team evaluations, Gasperini faces decisions including a possible move to deploy young Rodrigo Mora in an attacking midfield role. The Sinigaglia is preparing to reveal the true alternative to Inter in the title race.

Roman radio stations offer their verdicts on Roma's upcoming fixture against Como, with opinion split on Gasperini's midfield selection. Simone Valdarchi from Radio Manà Manà suggested that whether Gasperini opts for Pellegrini or Rodrigo Mora will not represent a defensive choice, but rather depend on each player's willingness to press Como's build-up play from the start. Roberto Pruzzo of Radio Radio Mattino flagged the Champions League context as a conditioning factor for both sides, noting that a long international break brings uncertainty and that reaching +6 on Fabregas's Como would be significant for Roma. Mario Mattioli, also of Radio Radio Mattino, dismissed concerns about midfielder Marten de Roon. "I don't understand the doubts about de Roon," Mattioli said. "He is an inexhaustible engine in midfield." Mattioli acknowledged Como as a strong team but stressed that Roma's squad carries greater experience overall. He characterised the Giallorossi as flying on the wings of enthusiasm despite some organisational gaps in certain areas of the squad. The discourse reflects the prominence of Rome's radio culture, which hosts a unique ecosystem of stations, journalists, former players and opinion-formers who shape debate around the club in ways unmatched elsewhere in Italy.

Roma defeated Sorianese 20–0 in a closed-door friendly at Trigoria on 8 October, using the match to sharpen their squad ahead of Sunday's fixture against Como. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini tested the fitness of players returning from international duty, though Argentine forwards Matías Soulé, Leonardo Balerdi and Santiago Castro completed only recovery work following their long journey. Wesley and Donyell Malen featured in the game. Rodrigo Mora (Portugal) emerged as the standout performer and has moved to the forefront of Gasperini's thinking for the number-ten role. The tactical fit explains the decision: Como, like Fiorentina and Atalanta before them, use a four-man defence, and Mora started both of those matches. His recent performances with the Under-21 national team have bolstered his credentials. Mora's skill in disrupting Como's build-up play from deep positions could prove decisive in the contest.