Roma Vs Cremonese: Gasperini outlines absences and hands youngsters a chance
Gian Piero Gasperini said Paulo Dybala and Matias Soule will not be involved in roma vs cremonese, a Sunday match at the Olimpico, leaving space for Lorenzo Pellegrini and Bryan Zaragoza to support Donyell Malen.
Roma Vs Cremonese: Gasperini lists absentees and expected front three
Gasperini confirmed Dybala is continuing treatment and remains sidelined by a niggle, and that Soule hasn’t trained all week and therefore will not be involved for the Olimpico fixture. With Artem Dovbyk, Evan Ferguson and Stephan El Shaarawy also out, the coach said the immediate attacking options will centre on Donyell Malen with Pellegrini and Bryan Zaragoza providing support.
Pellegrini, Gasperini said, has been playing regularly but can suffer dips in sharpness; the coach expects him to start playing a decisive role again beginning with the Cremonese match. For Zaragoza, Gasperini urged patience, noting the attacker hasn’t been with the squad long and will need a few games to adapt and become consistent.
Young options: Venturino and Vaz pushing for starts
The current shortage up front has thrust Robinio Vaz and Lorenzo Venturino into view as the main attacking options off the bench. Venturino, who scored a couple of goals for Genoa last year, has not played much this season but arrived to fill a position where Roma lacked depth. Vaz, Gasperini said, is a significant investment and has mainly featured as a substitute while already finding the net at least once.
With injuries shaping selection for roma vs cremonese, Gasperini noted that Venturino and Vaz have been thrown into action early to gauge their maturity; he described Venturino as someone who can help over time and said Vaz will certainly be a part of the club’s future while the coach assesses his short-term usefulness.
Malen's role and tactical note
Gasperini defended his deployment of Donyell Malen as a central forward, saying the player had often been used wide in a 4-2-3-1 but that his best role is through the middle. He reminded listeners that Malen is an Aston Villa player and a Netherlands international and that, for the way Gasperini wants to play, the striker’s attributes make him decisive in a central position rather than as an oversized target.
That tactical stance explains why Roma will look to field Malen centrally at the Olimpico, with Pellegrini expected to start and Zaragoza given responsibility to adapt to that supporting role. Gasperini emphasized the accumulation of missed months for key attackers over long stretches — Dovbyk, Ferguson, Leon Bailey, Dybala and El Shaarawy among them — as the reason younger players are getting chances now.
The next confirmed event is the club’s Sunday match at the Olimpico against Cremonese; Gasperini has made clear the team selection will reflect the current injury list and the opportunities it creates for Venturino and Vaz to stake a claim.
