AS Roma upset all odds to finish second in Serie A last season, with Rudi Garcia leading the capital club back into relevance once again. This summer they've set about beefing up their squad ahead of a season competing on both domestic and continental fronts, and the giallorossi are now looking like realistic title challengers. However, they start their campaign with a tough game at home against another side with lofty ambitions, Fiorentina.
AS Roma vs. Fiorentina preview: Giallorossi likely to cause counter-attacking problems
Roma will cause Fiorentina problems with their counter-attacking pace in their Serie A opener on Saturday.
The viola were expected to push a little harder for the title last season, but constant injuries prevented their two attacking stars, Mario Gómez and Giuseppe Rossi, from ever finding a consistent level of performance. They eventually wound up in fourth place, almost 40 points adrift of eventual champions Juventus. With better luck they could improve on that this season, though that largely depends on whether they'll be able to keep hold of star winger Juan Cuadrado.
Team news
Heading into this match, Roma have major worries in defense. Both halves of last season's preferred starting duo are out, with Mehdi Benatia having left to join Bayern Munich and Leandro Castan injured. Starting right back Maicon is doubtful, while summer signing Davide Astori trained sparingly in midweek. Fortunately this is only a precaution, and he should be available to partner new arrival Kostas Manolas at the centre of defense. Kevin Strootman and Federico Balzaretti are both out with their respective long-term problems.
Fiorentina will be without the suspended Cuadrado and Facundo Roncaglia, while there are big concerns over the fitness of Rossi. He's had another setback on his knee injury, and is set for another month on the sidelines. Midfield playmaker Matías Fernández is out with an ankle injury, though his compatriot David Pizarro could recover from a calf problem in time to play. Summer signing Marko Marin is definitely out, having done differentiated training after picking up an injury in Sevilla's Europa League final win.
Projected lineups (left to right)
AS Roma (4-3-3): Morgan De Sanctis; Ashley Cole, Davide Astori, Kostas Manolas, Vasilis Torosidis; Radja Nainggolan, Daniele De Rossi, Miralem Pjanić; Gervinho, Francesco Totti, Juan Iturbe.
Fiorentina (4-3-3): Neto; Manuel Pasqual, Stefan Savić, Gonzalo Rodríguez, Nenad Tomović; Alberto Aquilani, David Pizarro, Borja Valero; Josip Iličić, Mario Gómez, Juan Manuel Vargas.
Key Matchups
Roma's counter-attacks vs. Fiorentina's possession - Despite having quick players like Giuseppe Rossi and Juan Cuadrado who excel on the counter-attack, Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella has constructed his team with a heavy focus on possession-based football. They push as high up the field as possible, and like to dominate in the opposition's half. If they're not careful, that strategy could play right into Roma's hands, with the likes of Gervinho and Juan Iturbe both possessing the pace required to do damage on the counter-attack.
Miralem Pjanić vs. Fiorentina’s deepest midfielder - One of the most notable features of Montella’s team is the lack of any true defensive midfielders. His preferred trio of David Pizarro, Borja Valero and Alberto Aquilani are all playmakers who prefer to avoid any defensive work at all. That can sometimes leave pockets of space between their midfield and defense, which Roma’s Bosnian midfield star Miralem Pjanić will no doubt be looking to take full advantage of.
Mario Gómez vs. the Roma center backs - Former Bayern Munich striker Gómez has now been at Fiorentina for a year, though the 29-year-old has made just five starts and scored three goals. Hopefully the injury problems that have dogged him since his move to Florence are now behind him, and he can set about wreaking havoc in the Roma defense on Saturday. With Kostas Manolas and Davide Astori having had very little time to train together as a defensive pair, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see the German international get on the scoresheet.
Prediction
Both of these sides are very strong, though Fiorentina will be without arguably their best player in Cuadrado. The Colombian’s absence leaves them a little short on direct, penetrative players, meaning they could struggle to break Roma down. Roma, with a full-strength attack, shouldn’t have such a problem. 2-1 Roma.
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