On Sunday at the Stadio Olimpico, there could be debuts for several new Roma additions — perhaps even from the very beginning. Both Corriere dello Sport and Corriere della Sera have reported that Roma boss Paulo Fonseca could hand debuts to new arrivals Chris Smalling, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and Jordan Veretout from the first minute against Sassuolo on Sunday. After the recent injury to Cengiz Ünder– coupled with the injury of Diego Perotti — the Giallorossi’s attack could receive a face-lift for the match against the Neroverdi. It’s likely that Roma’s Portuguese manager will move Lorenzo Pellegrini from his deeper role and place him behind the striker with Mkhitaryan and Zaniolo playing on the wings.
Smalling and Veretout, meanwhile, have been working at Trigoria for the last two weeks to better understand the tactics of Fonseca and are both in-line to start on Sunday. The Englishman could be lined up next to Federico Fazio while the ex-Fiorentina midfielder is likely to be paired with Bryan Cristante in the deeper midfield roles.
