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In the throes of a race for top four, Roma are back on the pitch Wednesday when they travel to Lombardia to face an in-form Monza side at the Stadio Brianteo.
The Giallorossi face another “must win” situation after their draw against Milan on Sunday evening saw them drop to 6th in the table after Inter’s victory over Lazio. The Nerazzurri’s win increased their point total to 56, putting them level with both Roma and the Rossoneri for the fourth and final Champions League place.
Plagued with injuries, Roma will once again be faced with the task of playing without several key pieces. Top scorer Paulo Dybala is still recovering from injury and isn’t expected to feature in the match. They’ll also be without Andrea Belotti, Rick Karsdorp, and Marash Kumbulla, who suffered a torn ACL on Sunday.
Some good news may be on the horizon as the likes of Chris Smalling, Diego Llorente and Gini Wijnaldum were spotted at Fiumicino Airport in tow with the rest of Jose Mourinho’s squad for their flight to Lombardia. Though, Wijnaldum is the only one of the trio expected to be available for selection to face the Biancorossi.
Meanwhile, the hosts return to play after they mathematically achieved salvation and ensured their presence in Serie A for the next season. With relegation avoided and almost ten points out of a European place, manager Raffaele Palladino insisted his side are motivated to finish their final six games in the best way possible.
“This press conference is different than the rest because we officially know Monza will be in Serie A next season,” began Palladino.
“We achieved our most important objective of the season and I want to thank the club, Dott. Galliani, the president, the supporters, and the incredible staff here.”
“With that said, we want to do well in these final six games because we can still achieve things and have a chance to spoil the objectives of some of our opponents.”
“It is not easy to deal with Roma because they specialize in making their opponent play badly. They know how to defend well and attack, they are good at constantly changing their gameplan and adapting to the situation.”
“It wasn’t easy to study them, I worked hard during the week. But now we are ready and we feel we’ll be able to make up for their individual technical qualities. We want to do well.”
Kick-off is slated for 21.00 CET in Lombardia.
MONZA (3-4-2-1): Di Gregorio; Izzo, Pablo Marì, Caldirola; Ciurria, Pessina, Rovella, Carlos Augusto; Caprari, Colpani; Mota
ROMA (3-4-2-1): Rui Patricio; Celik, Mancini, Ibanez; Zalewski, Cristante, Bove, Spinazzola; El Shaarawy, Pellegrini; Abraham
