Roma boss Paulo Fonseca spoke at his pre-match press conference today as his side host Inter tomorrow at the Stadio Olimpico. Here’s what he had to say ahead of the tie:
Can Smalling start or is it too soon?
Let’s see, he only trained yesterday with the team. Let’s see how he feels today and tomorrow. He did a few training sessions with the team, but we’ll evaluate the situation.
The situation with Zaniolo, did you go a little too far with the lad, who just returned from injury? Could it have been handled differently?
I am very direct when I don’t like something. But these are normal situations, there is no problem with Zaniolo, with either me or his teammates. I have talked to him, we have full confidence in Zaniolo, there is no problem.
Will Pellegrini start?
He is fine both physically and mentally, he will play tomorrow.
What about Ünder and Kluivert?
It’s not a matter of scheme or gameplan: I can only play with 11 players. The team is fine and I don’t want to change much at the moment. These two guys are training well, they will play when there’s opportunities.
What convinces you about Bruno Peres more than Zappacosta?
We’ll see tomorrow. In this formation, we need a more offensive player, Bruno is an offensive and strong full-back in attack.
Will something change with Lukaku on the pitch?
Nothing changes.
Can Kolarov find continuity in 3-man defence?
He can play continuously in this position. I really liked the way he played, he also played there with Manchester City.
