Probable Formation: Roma vs Napoli

Roma enters its first match as sole league leaders on Sunday and it’ll be a big test against defending champions Napoli. The Giallorossi are off to a flying start to the season with nine wins in 12, but Gasperini’s men still lack a marquee victory after falling to both Milanese clubs by matching 1-0 scorelines. To get the result that would truly be a signal of intent in the Scudetto race, Gasperini will have to get his selections right.

His side gets a huge boost after both Manu Koné and Neil El-Aynaoui escaped Thursday’s Midtjylland clash with injuries but still made the match day squad. The Frenchman is expected to start alongside Bryan Cristante in the center of the park. However, El-Aynaoui might replace Koné if he’s not fully ready after coming off early against the Danish team.

Gasperini faces two key decisions for his starting XI. Will he choose Daniele Ghilardi or Mario Hermoso in the back three? Also, should he stick with the false nine setup or play a target man like Evan Ferguson?

As of publication, Gasperini hadn’t yet held a pre-match press conference, so we don’t have any insights into his thoughts. Considering the significance of this match, we believe Gasperini is more likely to choose the veteran Hermoso in defense, even after Ghilardi’s solid debut for Roma on Thursday.

Dybala’s start on Thursday was somewhat surprising since it was his first match back from injury. Given that, it seems likely that Gasperini would start Dybala again in this type of match. So, we can expect to see the false 9 formation with Matías Soulé and Lorenzo Pellegrini in support. However, Ferguson is another option, which could mean Dybala or Pellegrini moving to the bench.

ROMA (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Mancini, Ndicka, Hermoso; Çelik, Koné, Cristante, Wesley; Soulé, Pellegrini; Dybala.