Francesco Totti and Gervinho face Marek Hamsik and Gonzalo Higuain in tonight’s Roma–Napoli Coppa Italia semi-final.
Francesco Totti and Gervinho face Marek Hamsik and Gonzalo Higuain in tonight’s Roma-Napoli Coppa Italia semi-final.
This is the first leg and kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico at 19.45 GMT, while the decider at the Stadio San Paolo is on February 12.
There are still concerns over the state of the pitch after Roma-Parma was rained off on Sunday afternoon. It has continued to rain in the Capital and there is localised flooding.
Rudi Garcia’s men therefore rested at the weekend and throw captain Totti straight into the mix with Gervinho and Adem Ljajic.
Miralem Pjanic is rested in favour of Radja Nainggolan, while Dodo, Federico Balzaretti and Rafael Toloi are out of action.
It was not clear whether Garcia would risk Totti in these conditions only days ahead of the Derby della Capitale against Lazio.
It’s also a special game for Morgan De Sanctis, the Giallorossi goalkeeper who left Napoli over the summer.
Napoli need a boost after Sunday’s shock 3-0 defeat to Atalanta, a result which confirmed their recent poor form.
Valon Behrami is back on the bench after a long lay-off due to a fractured toe, but Juan Camilo Zuniga and Giandomenico Mesto are still sidelined.
Higuain leads the attack with support from Hamsik, Jose Maria Callejon and Lorenzo Insigne, while January signings Anthony Reveillere and Jorginho start.
Raul Albiol, Jorginho and Higuain all have to be careful, as a booking would rule them out of the second leg in Naples.
When these sides last met in Serie A in October, Roma emerged with a 2-0 victory thanks to a Pjanic brace.
In all competition, Napoli’s last win here was 2-0 in Serie A in February 2011, followed by a draw and two consecutive defeats.
Roma: De Sanctis; Maicon, Benatia, Castan, Torosidis; Nainggolan, De Rossi, Strootman; Ljajic, Totti, Gervinho
Napoli: Reina; Maggio, Fernandez, Albiol, Reveillere; Inler, Jorginho; Insigne, Hamsik, Callejon; Higuain