Roma return from the international break on Sunday, looking to put behind them their poor run of form from before it.
The spell between the October and November breaks was tricky for Roma, who must now start afresh to get back on track. With no more internationals until the New Year, the full focus can be on club duties and the work begins now.
First up for this next portion of fixtures is a trip to face Genoa, who will be being managed by Andriy Shevchenko for the first time. He used to play for Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, but now they will be going head to head on the touchline.
Mourinho will not have a full squad available to choose from. Bryan Cristante and Gonzalo Villar have both tested positive for coronavirus, so there will be a lack of options in midfield. There were even rumours that the plan was to play Cristante in defence, so that area too will have to be addressed alternatively.
Indeed, Mourinho said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday that everything they had worked on in the week would be torn up as a result of Cristante’s absence. Furthermore, he will be without a recognised left-back, forcing him to admit that not even his coaching staff were yet aware of how they would line up.
It’s only a matter of time before the answers become clear and Roma aim to get back on track with what they have available.
Roma won both fixtures against Genoa last season, 3-1 on their last visit and more recently 1-0 at home. In fact, Roma haven’t lost to this opponent since the final day of the 2013-14 season.
The game kicks off at 7:45pm UK time and will be live on BT Sport 1.
Leave a Reply