Mattia Destro partners Juan Manuel Iturbe and Francesco Totti in tonight’s Coppa Italia tie against Empoli.
It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico at 20.00 GMT and the winner goes through to the quarter-finals to face Fiorentina or Atalanta on February 3.
The Giallorossi need a confidence boost after a series of Serie A stalemates saw them fall five points behind League leaders Juventus.
Mattia Destro partners Juan Manuel Iturbe and Francesco Totti in tonight’s Coppa Italia tie against Empoli.
It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico at 20.00 GMT and the winner goes through to the quarter-finals to face Fiorentina or Atalanta on February 3.
The Giallorossi need a confidence boost after a series of Serie A stalemates saw them fall five points behind League leaders Juventus.
Vasilis Torosidis is out due to injury, while Kevin Strootman is suspended, but Destro starts after scoring against Palermo at the weekend despite transfer speculation.
He completes the trident with Totti in a deeper role and Iturbe, while Ashley Cole gets a rare start.
Empoli have impressed with their playing style, but struggled to convert their chances into goals and drew five of their last six Serie A games.
Riccardo Saponara is thrown straight into the starting XI following his loan move from Milan, taking the trequartista role behind veteran hitmen Massimo Maccarone and Francesco Tavano.
Roma: Skorupski; Maicon, Yanga-Mbiwa, Astori, Cole; Pjanic, De Rossi, Nainggolan; Iturbe, Destro, Totti
Roma bench: De Sanctis, Lobont, Holebas, Manolas, Calabresi, Somma, Paredes, Uçan, Florenzi, Verde, Ljajic, Borriello
Empoli: Bassi; Laurini, Bianchetti, Barba, Mario Rui; Vecino, Signorelli, Laxalt; Saponara; Tavano, Maccarone
Empoli bench: Sepe, Pugliesi; Perticone, Hysaj, Rugani, Tonelli, Valdifiori, Croce, Diousse, Zielinski, Verdi, Pucciarelli, Mchedlidze