Gasperini remakes Roma's back three as Slovan Bratislava arrive in crisis
Roma recast their defence after collapsing against Real Madrid, hosting a Slovan Bratislava side bottom of the Champions League table under first-time head coach Yaya Touré.
Roma go into Matchday 3 of the Champions League with one point from two games and a defence stripped down and rebuilt, seeking a first win in the competition when they host Slovan Bratislava at the Stadio Olimpico.
Gian Piero Gasperini's side arrive still processing a 4-3 defeat to Real Madrid in which they led 3-1 before conceding three late goals, all from corner kicks, as reported by Football Italia. A 1-1 draw away to Fenerbahce in the opening round means Roma sit without a win after two matches, and tonight's game against the division's bottom club is framed as the chance to put that right.
Why Gasperini has torn up his back line
The response to conceding three near-identical set-piece goals is a defensive reshuffle rather than a tweak. Leonardo Balerdi moves into the central defensive role, flanked by Daniele Ghilardi and Mario Hermoso, with Molina and Wesley pushed into wing-back positions either side of a midfield of Marten de Roon and Niccolò Pisilli, both confirmed in those roles by Football Italia.
That is a significant change in personnel terms, not just positioning. Putting Balerdi at the centre of a back three changes who organises the box at corners, and pairing two defenders in Ghilardi and Hermoso who have not been Gasperini's automatic central pairing this season suggests the manager is prioritising aerial presence and concentration over continuity after Madrid's set-piece punishment.
The injury list explains some of the reshuffle by necessity as much as choice. Paulo Dybala, Manu Koné and Mile Svilar are all out, while Bryan Cristante returns to the bench after more than a month out injured, giving Gasperini a midfield option he has not had available recently even if not yet a starting one.
Malen restored, but the supply line is the story
Donyell Malen, suspended for Saturday's Serie A win over Genoa, comes back into the side as the central attacking point, with Rodrigo Mora and Lorenzo Pellegrini operating just behind him. That front three gives Roma two players capable of creating from deeper positions either side of Malen rather than a conventional two-striker spread, and the balance of Mora's directness against Pellegrini's passing range will determine how Roma break down a Slovan side set up to defend deep.
Slovan arrive bottom of the table under a rookie coach
Slovan Bratislava's season in Europe has been bruising. They sit last in the Champions League standings, having lost 6-1 away to Paris Saint-Germain and 3-0 at home to VfB Stuttgart, according to Football Italia. Yaya Touré, the former Manchester City midfielder, is in his first head coaching role after previously working on Roberto Mancini's Saudi Arabia national team staff, and he takes this fixture with his squad further depleted.
Mykola Kukharevych has been out for two months, Roman Cerepkai is managing a back issue, and captain Andraz Sporar missed Saturday's domestic derby with Trnava after running a fever for several days. Robert Tomanek has recovered from a knock to be involved, a rare piece of positive team news for Touré before kickoff.
For a head coach in his first job, taking charge of a team already bottom of the Champions League phase table with its captain unwell and two defenders carrying physical issues is a demanding early test, and the absences at the back are likely to shape how passively Slovan are forced to play at the Olimpico.
A quiet thread of personal history runs through the game
There is a reunion of sorts between Gasperini and Juraj Kucka, the former Genoa midfielder now with Slovan, a detail Football Italia notes among the build-up. The two sides have met only once before, in the 2011/12 Europa League play-off round, when Slovan Bratislava went through on aggregate by a 2-1 scoreline, a result that stands as the competitive history between these clubs before tonight.
Roma's starting XI reads: Gollini; Ghilardi, Balerdi, Hermoso; Molina, Pisilli, De Roon, Wesley; Mora, Pellegrini; Malen. Slovan Bratislava line up as: Takác; Blackman, Bajric, Markovic, Sandro Cruz; Gajdos, Pokorny, Ibrahim; Barseghyan, Marcelli, Suleiman Camara. The match is refereed by Scharer of Switzerland.
With Roma already punished once this season for lapses at set pieces, how the reorganised Balerdi-Ghilardi-Hermoso trio copes with Slovan's attacking threat will tell Gasperini whether his remedy has worked, while a first Champions League win of the campaign would ease the pressure building after Madrid.