The new Serie A season is back with Roma set to kick-off their 2024/25 campaign on Sunday evening, when they visit Cagliari at the Sardegna Arena.
Roma manager Daniele De Rossi hopes to start his first full season on the bench with three points as his side start the season on the road against Cagliari.
The 41 year-old will take charge of the Giallorossi’s opener after overseeing the team’s summer preseason—which included overhauling both the squad and the team’s playing style.
The hosts face a similar situation with their new coach, Davide Nicola. After staving off relegation with Empoli on the last matchday, Nicola opted to leave the Tuscan side at the end of last season and join the Isolani on a two-year deal.
Roma
After finishing sixth for the third straight season, Roma’s drought for Champions League qualification extended to six years. However, the team improved drastically under De Rossi after he was selected to replace Jose Mourinho in the middle of last season.
Alongside new technical director Florent Ghisolfi, De Rossi revamped the Giallorossi’s roster as veterans Romelu Lukaku, Rasmus Kristensen, Leonardo Spinazzola, and Rui Patricio exited the club. Meanwhile, they welcomed last season’s top scorer in La Liga, Artem Dovbyk, from Girona plus Matias Soule, Enzo Le Fee, and left back Samuel Dahl.
Though, the future of star-man Paulo Dybala remains a major question mark in the hours prior to kick-off. La Joya received a significant offer from Al Qadsiah and is seriously contemplating a transfer move to the Saudi side.
When asked about the attacker’s situation, De Rossi admitted there’s still uncertainty.
“On Dybala we know there’s something, we’ve heard about the transfer market whispers, but Paulo is with us [for tomorrow],” he said during his pre-match press conference.
“There’s no problems or issues, he’ll be called-up for the game. Obviously, though, we’re well aware some players are involved in the transfer market, but we’ll see. I hope to continue to see the enthusiasm and dedication to work the team showed in the preseason,”
Cagliari
After they narrowly avoided relegation last season, hosts Cagliari will be eager to kick-off the new campaign with a result against the Giallorossi.
The Isolani are expected to be in the thick of the relegation race throughout the season—among the many reasons they opted for Davide Nicola after Claudio Ranieri announced his retirement in May.
He’ll be tasked with repeating the last-gasp miracle he pulled off with Empoli in the final minutes of last season, successfully cementing the Tuscans place in Serie A for at least another season.
Unlike the visitors, Cagliari have been relatively quiet this summer on the transfer market—their most notable moves being the acquisitions of Sebastiano Luperto from Empoli and Nordir Zortea from Atalanta.
“We will need to show courage, and above all humility. We will have to work as a team, but with the awareness of being able to hurt the opponent. Roma will certainly do the same to us,” said Nicola during his press conference.
“Tomorrow will be a match where we will have to demonstrate our identity. I’ll change something in the lineup, it’s a team that knows how to occupy spaces and can put us in difficulty.”
Adding, “But it’s a type of match that helps you grow because it’s a quality team. It will be an interesting start to the championship for us and I’m curious to see my team on the pitch.”
Predicted Lineups
CAGLIARI (3-5-2): Scuffet; Zappa, Wieteska, Luperto; Zortea, Marin, Prati, Makoumbou, Augello; Piccoli, Luvumbo
Unavailable: Yerry Mina
ROMA (4-3-3): Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Ndicka, Angelino; Le Fee, Cristante, Pellegrini; Soulé, Dovbyk, El Shaarawy
Unavailable: Leandro Paredes
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