Roma coach Claudio Ranieri will probably have to do without his striker Artem Dovbyk in their home meeting with Lecce, as he admitted the Ukraine international wasn’t perfectly fit in recent days and should start on the bench.
The Giallorossi look for their first win under the former Leicester manager, who looks set to hand Paulo Dybala his second consecutive Serie A start, despite admitting in a pre-match press conference he’s not showing the intensity he requires yet.
Stephan El Shaarawy should replace Dovbyk up front, with Alexis Saelemaekers starting his first game since returning from injury as a right wing-back at the expense of Zeki Çelik.
Ranieri is also expected to give Manu Koné further proof of his importance in the team by including him in the line-up for the third consecutive time alongside Leandro Paredes, while Mats Hummels is set to be confirmed in the Giallorossi’s back-three.
Lecce starlet Patrick Dorgu will be deployed as a left-back, with Ante Rebic starting in the trident as coach Marco Giampaolo hopes to extend his unbeaten streak to three games.
Roma (3-5-2): Svilar; Mancini, Hummels, Ndicka; Saelemaekers, Koné, Paredes; Pisilli, Angelino; El Shaarawy, Dybala.
Lecce (4-3-3): Falcone; Guilbert, Gaspar, Baschirotto, Dorgu; Coulibaly, Ramadani, Rafia; Morente, Krstovic, Rebic.
