“It’s a consideration because, yes, I believe that some players, but in all teams who were born and raised in a team they belong to, have to play in derbies, they experience them in a particularly different way, than, for example, a player who arrives in his first year, perhaps from outside, and who has less awareness of what it is, especially the surroundings, the people, of how much emotion is involved in a derby. Yes, indeed, emotionally there are players who feel much more. This sometimes leads them to not perform well emotionally, other times it leads them to exalt themselves. Pellegrini is definitely among those who has often been decisive in derbies. How is he? Unfortunately, Lorenzo is coming back from an injury, he trained all week, we’ll evaluate today, but it’s clear that if he’s fit and well, either from the start or during the game, he’s a player I have a lot of faith in.”
That was what Gasperini had to say about Lorenzo Pellegrini and how certain players—namely those born and raised in the city—experience the derby differently. He made it clear that Pellegrini will play some role tomorrow after returning from injury this week.Whether that’s from the start remains to be seen, but given the time off, it’s more likely we’ll see Pellegrini during the course of the match rather than at the start.
Another player returning to action after an even longer spell away is Artem Dovbyk. The Ukrainian striker won’t start and may not even play, but he’s at least an option off the bench for this one.
“Dovbyk, I have to say, has finally arrived, he’s joined the team, and so he’s started again. It’s a pleasure to see him back on the pitch, seeing injured players is something that saddens me more than anything, especially because you have to imagine how much sacrifice these guys make, along with their physiotherapists, to get them back on the pitch for weeks, months, and months to recover from such a long injury, perhaps even from surgery. So seeing them back on the pitch finally doing what they’re made for is already a fundamental achievement. It’s not easy to think about him playing tomorrow, because he’s been out for so many months, but the fact that he’s recovered and, in short, is back playing football is something very positive.”
Paulo Dybala, who recently returned and is expected to start from the beginning, was mentioned by Gasperini during the presser.
“I know, we’ve said this many times, but that’s how it went. Maybe there’ll be time now. We hope we don’t have to regret this, but the player is fine now, he’s recovered, he played 90 minutes, he definitely has no stamina issues.”
Who starts alongside Dybala in the attacking midfield is likely the one spot that is in question heading into Sunday’s match. Matías Soulé seems to be the leading contender. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Niccoló Pisilli be given a go. Or perhaps a surprise start for Pellegrini. Otherwise, the other ten starting spots seem to be spoken for.
ROMA (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Mancini, Ndicka, Hermoso; Çelik, Pisilli, Koné, Wesley; Dybala, Soulé; Malen.