“It will definitely be one or the other [a back three and two forwards behind Artem Dovbyk or an extra midfielder in a back four].”
That was how Claudio Ranieri’s pre-match presser started on Saturday when he was asked about his formation. So, with Ranieri not giving away any hints, the consensus seems to be split on just how the Tinkerman will line up his men against white-hot Atalanta on Monday.
That being said, with the Giallorossi playing a much more positive match against Spurs in London on Thursday with the back three than when playing a back four in Naples, we’ll lean toward the former here.
During his presser, Ranieri spoke about the roles of many of his players, including the minutes that Paulo Dybala can provide.
“I assess Dybala from one training session to the next. We know he can encounter certain problems and I have to try to prevent them happening. I took him off against Tottenham because I needed another player to press and close down opponents in their penalty area. I have no problem saying that when he turned it on he did fabulous things, like that ball for [Stephan] El Shaarawy for the goal, the shot of his that was saved superbly by the keeper. He hasn’t done the amazing things he knows how to do, but he’s given me lots of running and pressing, so I have to weigh it all up carefully every time.”
He also spoke about his struggling captain, Lorenzo Pellegrini, who is expected to regain his starting spot for this one.
“As for Lorenzo, I told him: ‘You’re running around like crazy. You’re feeling the pressure. I want you to enjoy yourself. So now we’re going to switch off, reset and you’ll see that you’ll go back to being the midfielder I know.’
“I’ve had two amazing goalscoring midfielders in my career. One is [Frank] Lampard and the other is Pellegrini. He comes in for a lot of criticism but how many midfielders score as many as Pellegrini? My job at the moment is to help Roma. And in helping Roma, I was very clear with Lorenzo, I told him, ‘Lorenzo, this is my plan.’”
“It depends when we switch back on. In football you never know how long such things last. I can tell you that he’s started scoring goals in training, hitting the target more than when I first arrived. I don’t know how long it will last. You can tell when a striker is in form: when he shoots, he always hits the target. When he’s not in form, he misses the target. Now his shots are always on target. He’s scoring. He’s started the reset process that he needs. He’s a very sensitive lad, very introverted, and the situation is affecting him more than others.
“I read somewhere that he was supposedly responsible for [Daniele] De Rossi getting sacked. There’s no truth in that. None whatsoever. The fans should know that. It wasn’t [Gianluca] Mancini, or [Bryan] Cristante, or Pellegrini that got Daniele sacked. On the contrary, they did all they could to keep him. People need to know the truth.”
That duo is expected to play in support of Artem Dovbyk, who has scored just once in his last eight matches for the Giallorossi—a far cry from his capcannoniere campaign with Girona in La Liga last season. Ranieri weighed in on his role and his current goalscoring troubles.
“I told Dovbyk to never chase back but then he won the ball in incredible fashion in the second half to stop a counter-attack. If he does that once, I’m happy with him, but he shouldn’t always be chasing opponents back.
“Both [a physical and team problem]. He had those minor problems in Ukraine, a knee problem he doesn’t have anymore. We know what sort of service he needs and we’re not helping him. I’ve spoken to the team, showed them videos, and we need to help him because he’s our goalscorer. We mustn’t heap pressure on him but we have to give him the sort of deliveries a striker like him needs.”
The one lock in central midfield looks to be Manu Koné, who continues to impress even as the rest of the team struggles. However, his partner looks to be a toss-up between Bryan Cristante and Leandro Paredes, who drew rave reviews against the Spurs.
If Roma does indeed stick with the back three, then expect Thursday’s goalscorers, Mats Hummels and Evan Ndicka, to again be joined by Gianluca Mancini. Meanwhile, Angeliño will retain his place on the left. But, Zeki Çelik looks to be under pressure on the right from the recently returned Alexis Saelemaekers, who drew praise from Ranieri.
“As a coach, you’re always looking for players who can play in different positions. I’ve spoken to him [Saelmaekers] and he really likes playing high on the left, but he can play on the other flank too. I see him more as an attacking player but he also has to put in a shift defensively.
“Saelemaekers is back and doesn’t have 90 minutes in him but you could see the energy he exuded in the one-on-ones. He played the key pass to Angeliño.”
Of course, the line-up will be completed with the omnipresent and invaluable Mile Svilar between the sticks.
ROMA (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Mancini, Hummels, Ndicka; Saelemaekers, Koné, Cristante, Angeliño; Dybala, Pellegrini; Dovbyk.