AS Roma vs Lecce: Serie A Clash Preview
AS Roma head south to Salento on Sunday, carrying the weight and swagger of league leaders into their Serie A clash with Lecce at the Stadio Ettore Giardiniero.
Top of the table. Six league wins in a row. Five clean sheets. Gian Piero Gasperini’s Roma arrive as a side that not only wins, but suffocates opponents. The 4-0 dismantling of Fiorentina on Matchday 1 underlined it: this is a team that starts fast and rarely loosens its grip.
Roma also travel with history on their side. They have beaten Lecce in each of their last four meetings, a run that sharpens the sense of expectation around this trip. Lecce know what is coming; stopping it is another matter.
Gasperini’s selection puzzle
Gasperini’s challenge is not momentum. It is balance.
New faces have arrived, injuries still bite, and the Roma manager has to stitch it all together without disturbing a winning rhythm.
At the back, Argentine defender Leonardo Balerdi has been named in the squad for the first time and is tipped to go straight into the starting XI. It would be a bold call, but very much in keeping with Gasperini’s readiness to trust players quickly if they fit his demands.
In midfield, Marten De Roon has wasted no time integrating after his late move from Atalanta. The Dutchman’s arrival adds bite and experience to the core of a side already built on structure and discipline.
Roma, though, are not at full strength.
Captain Lorenzo Pellegrini and Devyne Rensch both miss out with thigh and flexor issues. Their absence strips away some creativity and versatility, but there is at least a timeline: both are expected back in full training next week.
On the flanks, there is a different kind of tension. Nahuel Molina has shaken off a knock and is back fit, a boost that also ramps up the pressure on young wing-back Emanuele Lulli. If Lulli starts, he does so knowing one of Serie A’s most reliable wide operators is now breathing down his neck again.
Squad depth has taken a hit in other areas. Robinio Vaz has departed for Hull City, while Neil El Aynaoui has joined RB Leipzig. Neither will be available as options from the bench in Salento, trimming Gasperini’s room for manoeuvre if the game becomes a grind.
Predicted Roma XI
Roma are expected to line up with a familiar structure and familiar stars, even as some names change around them:
Svilar; Mancini, Ndicka, Hermoso; Lulli, Kone, Cristante, Wesley; Mora, Dybala; Malen.
It is a side built to control the middle, attack from the flanks and give Paulo Dybala and Donyell Malen the platform to decide the match in the final third.
Kick-off time and how to watch
Lecce vs AS Roma kicks off at 5:30pm BST on Monday, 31st August.
In the UK, the match will be shown live on DAZN.
Roma arrive with form, history and first place in their pocket. The question now is simple: can anyone slow them down, or does this trip to Salento become the next step in a relentless early-season charge?
