Roma Ready to Face Struggling Sassuolo in Serie A Clash

Daniele De Rossi’s Roma will be looking to maintain pace with Bologna in the fight for fourth when they welcome Sassuolo in the capital on Sunday evening. The match between the Giallorossi and the Neroverdi kicks off at 17.00 UK time at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

Roma have continued to shine since the appointment of De Rossi, securing a spot in the Europa League Round of 16. In the league, they’ve only suffered one defeat under the former midfielder, but their 2-2 draw with Torino last weekend proved disappointing. Sitting six points behind fourth place Bologna, the Giallorossi are without Chris Smalling, Rasmus Kristensen, Paulo Dybala, Tammy Abraham, and Renato Sanches. Romelu Lukaku is coming off a hip problem but is expected to feature.

Sassuolo are in a club in freefall, with their situation exacerbated by the career-derailing injury suffered by talismanic winger Domenico Berardi, who recently underwent a serious operation on his Achilles tendon. The Neroverdi sit 19th in the table, two points behind 17th place Lecce, putting them in dire need of victories. The Reggio-Emilia outfit are without the injured Mattia Viti, Jeremy Toljan, and Berardi. Josh Doig and Kristian Thorstvedt are both sidelined with suspensions.

When these two teams met back in December, Roma edged out a 2-1 win after late goals from Dybala and Kristensen. The expected lineups for the match are as follows: Roma – Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Ndicka, Angelino; Pellegrini, Paredes, Cristante; Aouar, Lukaku, El Shaarawy. Sassuolo – Consigli; Missori, Erlic, Ferrari, Toljan; Henrique, Boloca; Defrel, Bajrami, Laurienté; Pinamonti.