Roma-Inter kick off at 18:00 LIVE
THE EVE
One night in retreat and then all together at the Olimpico. Roma – on the eve of the match against Inter – will spend the night at Trigoria, as Gasperini wants no distractions and leaves nothing to chance. Winning against the Nerazzurri would mean going into the international break in sole first place, but above all keeping the enthusiasm high in a city that, at the first sign of difficulty, often tends to be too moody, swinging from elation to despair in ninety minutes. For this reason Gasperini – speaking about the excitement felt in the capital – described it as "positive energy", while being aware that the objective is to maintain a certain balance, at the fifth matchday of the season.
He therefore dismissed the notion that Roma – compared to last year – have closed the gap with Inter. "I believe they are still the benchmark team, they are doing extraordinary things in Italy and in Europe. This is why competing with them is an ambition shared by everyone," he explained. "They are superior to not just us, but to everyone, in certain areas. The numbers say so – today they are the strongest. We need to focus on ourselves, trying to work our way in and continue to stay at the top."
To do so he will rely on his first-choice players, because "touch wood, everyone will be available, including Pellegrini," he stressed ahead of the final training session and tomorrow morning's warm-up. Hermoso, who had been sidelined with an ankle injury, has recovered and will take his place alongside Mancini and Ndicka.
There will be no changes in attack either, where the Dybala-Malen partnership is performing too well for the manager to consider rotation, which he might instead apply in the attacking midfield role, where Pisilli is challenging Soulé for a starting berth. "Mentally, you don't need to prepare for games like this," Gasperini added. "We need to calmly look at the pitch to understand how to counter this team and show that we are competitive."
This is especially true given the recent history: not only have the Giallorossi not beaten Inter at home for ten years, but Gasperini has lost his last ten meetings against the Nerazzurri – a sort of kryptonite that the manager tends to play down. "There was a period when I managed to get results against Inter, then in recent years it has always ended in defeat," said the former Atalanta coach. "It may be a tactical matter, but the managers have changed from Conte to Inzaghi and Chivu, yet the result hasn't changed. These negative numbers, however, are shared by many teams against Inter. There was a period when it was the same with Juventus, during their run of 7-8 consecutive titles, then the wins started coming. There are many factors at play – we are facing a strong team." The appointment is tomorrow, when the final whistle will tell us something more about this season's Roma project.
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