Roma boss José Mourinho says Nemanja Matic will start against Juventus tomorrow and admits he doesn’t know how Paulo Dybala will manage his emotions at the Allianz Stadium.
The Giallorossi travel to Turin with two wins from two in Serie A. They still haven’t conceded this season, but they must do without the injured Nicolò Zaniolo and Georginio Wijnaldum tomorrow.
“Tomorrow we play with the same line-up except for Matic who will replace Nicolò Zaniolo, we have collected six points in two games and it’s a positive thing,” Mourinho said at a press conference.
“Zaniolo and Wijnaldum are injured and they are two important players for us. I can see we play against Juventus because, in the previous press conferences, nobody was talking about the opponents,” he continued.
“It’s a great game against a team that wants to win the title, but it’s one of the 38 games. Playing a big team gives motivation, but it’s also difficult. Every game is the same, the routine doesn’t change. I’ve been to Turin many times, tomorrow is one more.”
Dybala will face his former club for the first time. The last time he played in Turin in May, he broke into tears while saying goodbye to his ex-supporters. The Old Lady had refused to offer him a new deal, so La Joya joined Roma on a free transfer in July.
Has Mourinho given some advice to Dybala on how to approach the game?
“No, it depends on the player’s character. I don’t know how Paulo will respond,” the Portuguese coach claimed.
“He has a baby face, but he is not. We can talk about how he could play, but he has control of his emotion. I haven’t seen anything different these days, I expect a regular game, perhaps with a bit of emotion before and after.
“We haven’t prepared the game differently, we did the same thing we had done before the game with Cremonese. I expect a normal game, we’ve worked quite well and know what we want to achieve.
“It’s a game between two great teams. The world of football continues to be wrong. People think that not conceding goals means having a defensive approach. It’s not like that. Quality teams don’t concede many goals.”
Roma have learned their opponents in the Europa League group stage draw today, but Mourinho insists the Giallorossi are not among the favourites to win the competition despite last season’s triumph in the Conference League.
“The Europa League it’s a difficult competition with teams that have incredible potential. Teams that must win or it’s a disaster, those teams have the responsibility to win, we’ll go step by step.”
Roma will face Ludogorets, Betis and HJK Helsinki in Group C.
Matic – 34 year old defensive midfielder replacing an energetic, hungry attacking youngster? Hmmm
@Chris2 any better idea?
Its clear Pellegrini will move to Zaniolo’s usual position and Matic to play alongside Cristante. Forza Roma.
Expect a boring game tomorrow then, both clubs will play cautiously, most liekly 0-0 or a 1-0 win to either team
el shaawary in the starting 11 to me is a better idea
El shaarawy in the starting play is better
I really want to see Pellegrini play as a proper No 10