Roma head into Tuesday night’s Serie A meeting with Cagliari with Gian Piero Gasperini ready to shuffle his side and still weighing whether Paulo Dybala belongs in the matchday group. After Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Napoli, the coach said he would decide on the team on the following day, but added that there probably will be a few changes.
That is the kind of selection call that can shape a midweek run as much as the result itself. Gasperini said Roma would bear their opponents in mind too and pointed to a squad built to switch things up, even during the game. He was also optimistic about Dybala’s return, a boost that would come as Roma try to protect an unbeaten Serie A start and keep pace through a crowded stretch.
Cagliari arrive with their own mixed form. They lost 2-0 to Bologna on Saturday, but had drawn with Juventus in their first game after the international break and had last won before that break. The matchup has been split evenly enough to keep it live: Roma and Cagliari each took one win against the other last season, and Roma have not lost a home game against Cagliari since February 2013.
There is also a familiar face in the other dressing room. Alessandro Romano will be back on Tuesday night after moving to Cagliari, a return that makes the fixture feel sharper than a standard midweek league date. Roma will also have a reason to keep Donyell Malen in view. He scored his first two goals at the Olimpico in a 2-0 win over Cagliari in February, although he has now gone three Serie A appearances without scoring despite adding three Champions League goals across two games between those league outings.
The balance for Gasperini is delicate. Roma need energy after the Napoli draw and with injuries still narrowing his options, but he also sounded encouraged by the form of Matías Soulé, whose role has widened across the front line. The coach called Soulé’s display against Napoli stunning, said the 23-year-old is becoming more mature and confident, and noted that he can operate on the right, on the left or in the hole while losing the ball less often than before.
That leaves the clearest unresolved point where it matters most: whether Dybala actually makes the squad. Gasperini sounded hopeful, not definitive, and he will not settle the lineup until the final check. For Roma, that is the real answer waiting behind Tuesday night’s search for a third straight step without a slip at home.
