Roma will be looking to lift themselves back up from their Europa League disappointment as they return to Serie A duties on Sunday.
Reeling from a 6-2 loss to Manchester United in the first leg of their European semi-final, Roma have some pride to restore as they look to stop their slide down the Serie A table.
Now five games without a win in all competitions, Roma are in danger of going out with a whimper this season. They still have five matches to play in the league and will be trying to reverse their recent fortunes.
The next opponent is a Sampdoria side coached by a familiar face, Claudio Ranieri. Their form has been mixed this season but they are now just two places behind Roma – although there is a large points gap between the two.
Of the current standings, Sampdoria are the highest-placed team Roma have beaten in the league this season, having won the reverse fixture 1-0. In fact, Ranieri has not managed to beat his former employers in three attempts with the Blucerchiati since leaving his boyhood club in 2019.
Ranieri’s successor Paulo Fonseca may now be approaching the end of his tenure, but still has some decisions to make to try and go out on a better note. The first will be to pick the right balance of personnel for the trip to Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
Embed from Getty ImagesAfter Jordan Veretout, Pau Lopez and Leonardo Spinazzola all picked up injuries in Manchester, options are thin on the ground. The two outfield players are likely to miss the rest of the season, while the goalkeeper may need an operation on his shoulder. They have also since been joined on the treatment tables by Amadou Diawara and Carles Perez.
It gives Fonseca some thinking to do about who to pick. He suggested that Daniel Fuzato may get some chances to finally prove himself in goal between now and the end of the season, for example – but it seems Antonio Mirante will still get the nod for this match against one of his former sides.
In defence, it remains to be seen if Chris Smalling is ready to start a third game in a row after struggling at his former home. There will be the welcome return of Gianluca Mancini, though, after his European suspension.
Gonzalo Villar will likely have a big role to play in midfield given other absences, and will be hoping to improve his own recent form. There is a chance that Bryan Cristante could step forward into his more natural territory to partner the Spaniard in midfield.
And in the attacking third, Fonseca has so little to work with that even Javier Pastore might be an option to start – although there is no indication over how likely that is. If he did, it would be his first start since the home match against none other than Sampdoria last June.
The squad is likely to be boosted in number by some Primavera players to provide further depth.
With Sampdoria having a 26-man squad to pick from, they will be looking to cause Roma some problems. However, the Giallorossi have not lost away to Samp since January 2017, so will be aiming to maintain that run.
The game kicks off at 7:45pm UK time and will be available to watch live on Premier Sports 1.
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