The third season of the Jose Mourinho era at Roma gets underway on Sunday evening (albeit without the head coach) with a home tie against Salernitana in Serie A.
Roma started last season against Salernitana too, winning 1-0 away. The more recent meeting between the two clubs at Stadio Olimpico was a 2-2 draw in May.
This time around, Roma will be without captain Lorenzo Pellegrini and last season’s leading scorer Paulo Dybala due to suspensions. However, they could offer competitive debuts to summer signings such as Houssem Aouar, Evan Ndicka and Rasmus Kristensen (it remains to be seen if this week’s arrivals, Leandro Paredes and Renato Sanches, will be ready), while Primavera product Riccardo Pagano, who plays in midfield, has been tipped for his first outing at some point.
Salernitana are expected to have ex-Roma defenders Federico Fazio and Norbert Gyomber in their starting lineup. They are managed by Paulo Sousa.
In contrast, there will be a change from the norm in the dugout for Roma, since Mourinho and his assistant Salvatore Foti are both suspended too. Club legend Bruno Conti will be taking to the touchline on an interim basis to support coach Stefano Rapetti.
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The match will be referred by Ermanno Feliciani, who has never overseen a Serie A match involving either of the two teams in action, although he was in charge of Roma’s Coppa Italia win over Genoa last season.
Roma v Salernitana will be available to watch live on TNT Sports 1 in the UK. Kick-off is at 5:30pm BST.
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