Roma radio analysts weigh squad strength ahead of Inter fixture

Radio pundits have shared their views on Roma's current form and their upcoming trip against Manchester United. Fabrizio Aspri, speaking on Radio Radio, said Gasperini was surprised by Mora, whose wish had been to change Roma and make them attractive out wide. Aspri said Mora is becoming very important, but added that Gasperini wants a left-footed winger for January and also lacks a midfielder. "Roma are performing miracles because they are strong, but they need something else," Aspri said. He rated Mora's performances as very positive, but said Gasperini does not want this for January. "You cannot play without Cristante in midfield," he added. Aspri said he would take a draw against Manchester United, provided the team knew it was doing well. He voiced doubts about Ghilardi, saying he would wait a little longer as the defender still has to mature more than the others. He also described Gasperini as a manager who rations energy. Andrea Pugliese, also on Radio Radio, was more positive about the club's prospects. He said Ghilardi is becoming very important and is growing with every match. Pugliese noted that Gasperini always selects Cristante and then the other ten outfield players. He said Cristante has earned the trust of the coach over the years and is a fundamental player for the team's balance. Pugliese described Manchester United as a side in disarray. "It will be a difficult match, but it is not a prohibitive trip, because the emotional states are completely different and everyone is leaning towards Roma," he said. The views were gathered as part of Romanews.eu's daily column reviewing comments from Rome radio speakers and pundits on Roma.

Roma are being urged to exploit Udinese's current form, with Nando Orsi calling the visitors the weakest Udinese side in recent years after five straight defeats. Orsi said: 'Udinese come into this on five defeats, lost deservedly: this is the worst Udinese of recent years. Roma must take advantage. I'm sorry, because Udinese are a tough side, but Roma cannot waste this game.' Roberto Pruzzo noted that Inter have not won a derby in seven matches, saying Roma could move a little closer to the top of the table. He warned that the match should not become too physical, as that could make things complicated against Udinese, and said Roma should rely on technique and quality. Pruzzo also suggested playing Niccolò Pisilli, saying: 'He adapts to everything, he has to play.' Ugo Trani expects Gasperini to rotate mainly in defence, noting that the coach can only change those players. Ghilardi and Hermoso will play for certain, as will Wesley and Cristante. Trani believes Roma will line up with two attacking midfielders today. On the transfer market, he said Njie has shots and incredible pace but lacks the head for the game, adding that Roma followed him last summer before Fiorentina signed him. He described Lang as someone who 'breaks games' open. On Endrick, Trani said Roma will try to bring him in one way or another, though Arsenal's interest would make it more complicated, while he would certainly find more space in Rome. Trani also highlighted that Balde earns 5.5 million at Barcelona, and that Roma could try in January, paying less than two million in wages for six months. He added that Roma will take two strikers regardless. On the Udinese game, he said: 'The match against Udinese is very heavy, which is why I don't trust it. I wouldn't feel comfortable even at 11 against 9... Dybala is missing in these games.'

Radio pundits across Rome's airwaves have made Roma's home clash with Udinese a must-win fixture, with several arguing that a victory would allow the club to push on in a manageable run of fixtures. Carina, speaking on Radio Radio, said: "On paper it is a round that should help the two Roman clubs. I am convinced Milan can win this derby. Udinese are a big unknown: last year Roma played a bad game, and if Udinese manage to produce a match like that, Roma can run into difficulties. Malen is incredible: he scores a goal a game. Roma were "Svilar-dependent", this year that is not the case, they score a lot. It is a more "Gasperinian" side than last year's and it is bearing fruit. What surprises me is not so much the play as the number of injuries. It would surprise me to see De Roon start, because against Cagliari he seemed tired to me. It seems to me a game to play with two behind Malen. This is a game Roma must win: if they win today, they have an affordable schedule and can push on emphatically." Sabatini, also on Radio Radio, said Udinese are going through a negative period. "Seeing them rack up five or six defeats seems an anomaly to me for a side that is not destined for last place. Roma have every chance of winning, but beware: Udinese can wake up." Pruzzo, on the same station, said Roma's game is within reach and could help them move closer to the top, noting that Inter have not won the derby in seven matches. He added that Pisilli adapts to anything and must play, and that the team seems capable of a less physical game: "If you get into a physical battle with them it can become complicated. You have to focus on technique and quality." Orsi, also on Radio Radio, said: "Udinese come off five defeats, and they lost them deservedly: this is the worst Udinese of recent years. Roma must take advantage. I am sorry, because Udinese are a tough side, but Roma cannot waste this match."

Roma have gone five matches without Manu Koné and Paulo Dybala and have collected 13 points in that stretch, a record that shows the squad's depth under Gasperini. Bryan Cristante was also briefly absent, and the club have coped with the losses of several key players. The article notes that Pisilli, de Roon, Rodrigo Mora, Pellegrini and Castro started on the bench at times against the most reliable opponents, which it describes as a fact that applies to every team in the world. Gasperini has insisted that "they are all starters". Even with several important names unavailable, Roma have kept their level high. Koné and Dybala are described as perhaps the two best players in the squad alongside Svilar and Malen. Last season, the French and Argentine midfielder and forward were both missing together in 9 matches across Serie A and the Europa League, and Roma collected 13 points from 3 wins, 4 draws and 2 defeats. As of Sunday 1 November, the five matches without the pair have yielded 13 points against Genoa, Napoli, Cagliari, Udinese and Slovan Bratislava. That is an average of 2.6 points per game, compared with 1.44 in the earlier spell. Cristante was also out in two of those five games. Svilar has missed seven matches, and his injury marks the last time Roma fielded their full first-choice side, on 19 September, a 2-2 draw with Inter. The article credits the squad's improved maturity and quality, partly due to the summer work of D'Amico. It describes Pisilli as having a year more experience, de Roon as a professor with a titanium physique, and Soulé as back at top level. Rodrigo Mora is raising his standard, Gollini has regained confidence in his role after a long spell without playing, Lulli is a "terrible" young talent, and Balerdi often looks like a gladiator. The overall level of the team has risen considerably. After the international break, Gasperini is expected to have all his players available for the trip to Parma.

Roma have scored 28 goals in their first ten Serie A matches of 2026-27, a new club record for the competition that eclipses the 26 scored in the opening ten rounds of 1960/61 and 2016/17. The record came after a 5-0 win away at Udinese, the most recent game, and no Roma side had scored more in that early stretch of a league season. The average is 2.8 goals per match, a pace that, projected over the whole campaign, would mean more than 100 goals. The article stresses that this is a simple mathematical projection, but it shows the scale of the change under Gian Piero Gasperini. The record has come despite a run of closely spaced fixtures and heavy absences, starting with Paulo Dybala and Manu Koné. Donyell Malen remains the most recognisable name in attack, with his ability to run in behind, move constantly and turn harmless-looking balls into chances. However, the article argues that focusing on his goals misses the real secret of this Roma side. Gasperini has built a team in which scoring is no longer the responsibility of the strikers alone. It has become a collective task, open to anyone who can find the right space. The clearest example came in Udine, where five different players scored: Bryan Cristante, Mora, Malen, Evan N'Dicka and Daniele Ghilardi. A midfielder, an attacking midfielder, a striker and two defenders, each scoring in a different way, from close-range finishing and runs into the box to a header and a quick, constructed move. The article notes that this was not an isolated case, as Pisilli, Lulli, Soulé, Koné and Balerdi had also scored in the preceding weeks. Roma score so often, it says, because they get many players into the decisive areas of the pitch. Gasperini underlined the point after the Udinese game: "We are scoring more goals and with more players. This is a great sign." The coach has identified the growing confidence of the group as one of the main reasons for this development. Scoring is not only a matter of technique or systems but also of conviction. When a player starts to believe he can be decisive, the way he attacks the box, looks for a shot and takes responsibility changes. The article also highlights the progress of players who until a few weeks ago looked like simple alternatives. Mora has started to find more consistency in front of goal, Ghilardi is becoming a useful option from set pieces, and Cristante, against Udinese, produced an outstanding performance, combining a goal with an assist. The rotations, the article says, are not weakening the attacking play but multiplying the solutions available to the coach. The article is not blind to the defensive side. Roma have already conceded ten goals in Serie A and, in recent matches, have shown some lapses in concentration that could prove costly against stronger opponents. The definitive step up, it argues, will also depend on the ability to keep balance when the team attacks with many players, an aspect Gasperini knows well and on which he will have to keep working. The piece concludes that the 28 goals in ten matches, a historic record, show a side that finds the net with remarkable ease and a group in which individual talent is enhanced by an increasingly recognisable collective identity. Its closing line suggests that the true record may be building a Roma in which everyone feels capable of scoring.

Roma turned Halloween night into a show of force, beating Udinese 5-2 and extending their lead at the top of the table, with five different goalscorers ahead of the Champions League trip to Manchester. The match was effectively decided in the first ten minutes. Bryan Cristante headed Roma in front from Wesley's fine cross, with Udinese goalkeeper Okoye far from faultless, and the hosts' resistance collapsed from there. In the first half Roma created chances with ease and hit the woodwork twice, through Soulé and Malen, before a burst of goals settled the contest. Mora, Malen and Ndicka all scored, giving Roma four goals in the first 37 minutes. Mora, who scored in the first half, confirmed he can be decisive even when starting from the first minute, Malen kept scoring with striking regularity, and Soulé produced tricks and assists. Cristante was outstanding, scoring, providing the assist for Mora and making constant runs, and was probably the best player on the pitch. Only days earlier he had looked among the players struggling with the demands of a punishing schedule. Marten de Roon provided balance and composure in midfield, and both men passed a test many had feared they would fail against a physical Udinese side. The only blemish came after the break, when Roma conceded too easily in the opening minutes of the second half, allowing Zaniolo to reduce the deficit. Palma later made it 4-2, but Udinese never looked capable of completing a comeback. Gasperini began managing his players and his energy, understandably, with a Champions League match at Old Trafford to come. Ghilardi was rewarded for another convincing performance by scoring the decisive 5-2 with a powerful right-foot strike, set up by a pass from Santiago Castro. Five goals from five different scorers was, in the writer's view, the most encouraging statistic of the evening. Roma have now scored 28 goals in ten league matches. Gasperini was credited with the team's mentality as much as its football. The writer argued the side increasingly reflects his ideas, with Mora, Ghilardi, Balerdi and Cristante all stepping up in turn while the coach keeps rotating his players. When Gasperini said after the match that he sees himself in this team, it was described as one of the most significant remarks of the season. The article also highlighted one area for improvement: the gap between Malen and Castro in attack. Malen gives depth, constantly attacks goal and turns harmless balls into chances, while Castro, despite a fine assist for Ghilardi's goal, looks less influential. The writer hopes Gasperini can also get the best out of Castro, so that Roma can lose Malen without losing much of their threat. The next major test is Manchester, against an opponent that will not offer the same freedoms Udinese did. Roma face that Champions League fixture at Old Trafford next, on Tuesday.

Gian Piero Gasperini's Roma have set a club record of 28 goals after their first 10 Serie A matches, and the coach's influence is being felt in more than the table. Roma have also gone 17 league games unbeaten, a run that began seven months ago, and have scored with 14 different players. The article credits Gasperini's method, which has made a difference since last season, with improving both the collective behaviour of the team and the development of individual players, young and experienced alike. The clearest evidence of that work, the article argues, comes when Roma are under pressure. Several key players have been missing for weeks: Svilar, Koné and Dybala are all regular starters, and Pellegrini is also absent. Cristante has returned after three matches out and was a major presence at Udine. Despite the lack of players of real quality, Gasperini has kept his idea of football intact, and the team has not lost the identity that marks every match he prepares. At Udine, Gasperini made changes during the game to keep his 3-4-2-1 system without abandoning it. In the closing stages he pushed Ghilardi wide on the right, asking him to finish the match against Udinese as a winger, and moved Molina up into the attacking midfield role behind Castro and in line with Pisilli. Mancini came on for Soulé, taking Ghilardi's place in defence, and Ghilardi's move into midfield pushed Molina further forward. The attack was therefore reshaped from the starting line-up, which had Malen alongside Soulé and Mora. The second-half moves also raise the question of January reinforcements. Given the seriousness of Pellegrini's injury, added to the absence of the out-and-out striker who did not arrive in the summer, the article says Roma would benefit from two more attacking midfielders to give greater choice up front. Pisilli and Molina, a midfielder and a wide player, ended up in those positions at Udine. Gasperini is therefore expected to wait for two signings at the start of 2027. In the meantime, the article notes he has been creative in dealing with the emergency, as he did last year when he dropped Cristante into defence, and in pre-season he played Hermoso in midfield.

Roma did not return to Rome after their 5-2 win over Udinese on Friday evening and instead spent the night in Friuli to prepare for their Champions League trip to Manchester United on Tuesday 3 November at Old Trafford. Gian Piero Gasperini's side trained this morning at Udinese's sports centre, as guests of the Bianconeri club. Players who featured the previous night completed a light recovery session, while the others did a more intense workout. Roma publicly thanked the Friulian club for its hospitality through a message on their social channels. The squad will travel to Trieste this afternoon and fly directly to Manchester without passing through Rome, a choice made to save energy and optimise timings in an increasingly congested calendar. Gasperini will hold his press conference tomorrow, followed by a training session on the Old Trafford pitch. Svilar, Koné and, barring a surprise, Dybala will all miss the trip to face Manchester United. Belgian goalkeeper Svilar is scheduled to return after the November international break, while there is greater hope for Koné and Dybala, the Argentine known as La Joya, ahead of the match against Sassuolo on 7 November. Timings are not yet certain, as Gasperini himself stressed after the Udine game, explaining that the week that has just begun will be decisive in assessing the condition of the injured players. Gasperini is considering several changes to the side that routed Udinese. Gianluca Mancini, who was on the bench on Friday, is set to return to the starting XI in defence. The main doubt concerns the number ten position, where Niccolò Pisilli could be preferred to Rodrigo Mora, who scored two goals in a row against Cagliari and Udinese. The switch would bring greater balance and intensity to a game that will also require close attention to defensive work. Soulé and Malen remain fixed starters, both having been substituted in the second half on Friday partly to conserve their energy. Roma go into the European fixture in the best form of the season, on the back of a run of convincing performances and a group that continues to respond despite heavy absences. Gasperini now seeks another test of maturity, this time on the Old Trafford stage, against a Manchester United side in difficulty but still dangerous because of the quality of their players.

Roma have gone five matches without Manu Koné and Paulo Dybala and have collected 13 points in that stretch, a record that shows the squad's depth under Gasperini. Bryan Cristante was also briefly absent, and the club have coped with the losses of several key players. The article notes that Pisilli, de Roon, Rodrigo Mora, Pellegrini and Castro started on the bench at times against the most reliable opponents, which it describes as a fact that applies to every team in the world. Gasperini has insisted that "they are all starters". Even with several important names unavailable, Roma have kept their level high. Koné and Dybala are described as perhaps the two best players in the squad alongside Svilar and Malen. Last season, the French and Argentine midfielder and forward were both missing together in 9 matches across Serie A and the Europa League, and Roma collected 13 points from 3 wins, 4 draws and 2 defeats. As of Sunday 1 November, the five matches without the pair have yielded 13 points against Genoa, Napoli, Cagliari, Udinese and Slovan Bratislava. That is an average of 2.6 points per game, compared with 1.44 in the earlier spell. Cristante was also out in two of those five games. Svilar has missed seven matches, and his injury marks the last time Roma fielded their full first-choice side, on 19 September, a 2-2 draw with Inter. The article credits the squad's improved maturity and quality, partly due to the summer work of D'Amico. It describes Pisilli as having a year more experience, de Roon as a professor with a titanium physique, and Soulé as back at top level. Rodrigo Mora is raising his standard, Gollini has regained confidence in his role after a long spell without playing, Lulli is a "terrible" young talent, and Balerdi often looks like a gladiator. The overall level of the team has risen considerably. After the international break, Gasperini is expected to have all his players available for the trip to Parma.