Coach Edy Reja expects Roma to seek revenge after their 6-1 defeat: 'But Atalanta can attack them in the midfield'.
The Giallorossi need to get back up after the psychological shock of being crushed by Barcelona in the Champions League, and the brunt of bearing their return falls on La Dea.
“Their position in the standings falls within expectations,” said Reja in today's Press conference. “They come from a special situation in the Champions League.
Coach Edy Reja expects Roma to seek revenge after their 6-1 defeat: 'But Atalanta can attack them in the midfield'.
The Giallorossi need to get back up after the psychological shock of being crushed by Barcelona in the Champions League, and the brunt of bearing their return falls on La Dea.
“Their position in the standings falls within expectations,” said Reja in today's Press conference. “They come from a special situation in the Champions League.
“Nobody likes to concede six goals, even though this isn't the first time Barcelona put in such a performance. A different result was expected, perhaps a more dignified loss.
“This falls on us, as they'll want to erase that game as soon as possible.
“I'd like to see Atalanta being brave, with our own game and our own mentality. We'll have to be careful about the flanks, with players that will need to be physically reactive.
“We must find our counter-measures in the opening phase and then play the way we know. They press hard but they also leave spaces we can exploit on the counter.
“[Edin] Dzeko, Iago Falque, [Juan] Iturbe… they're all players with a higher gear, the wingers are very fast. They have technique in the midfield and speed too, which allows them to invent plays.
“Their wingers are very good, I don't know whether [Alessandro] Florenzi will play or [Douglas] Maicon. They are two wingers, as is [Lucas] Digne.
“They'll come out swinging, attacking us with eight men. This style of play means they will be unbalanced in defence. We have the right skills to give them trouble, but we must attack them in the midfield.
“We must play a sober match, disallow them from countering, creating a great density around the ball.
“We must concede no space on the pitch, very much depends on how we start out. Roma and Napoli have some great squads available. This is a difficult game for us, but we must try and trouble them. We must cut off their chances for a quarter of an hour to twenty minutes.”