The opening round of Serie A will conclude with Roma vs Fiorentina. At the sold-out Stadio Olimpico on the banks of the Tiber, the centenary celebrations of the Giallorossi and the Viola will begin — a season in which both Roma and Fiorentina will be hoping to mark 100 years of existence with success on the pitch. The money the two clubs have spent so far during the current transfer window would certainly suggest as much. Fiorentina are one of Roma’s favourite opponents at the Olimpico. The statistics tell the story: the Romans have lost just three times at home to the Tuscans in the last 50 years, recording 33 wins and 16 draws. Roma also beat the Viola in both meetings last season under Gian Piero Gasperini.Serie A begins: Can anyone stop Inter?Roma can also take encouragement from their record in season openers. Over the past 14 years, they have lost just once — to Verona in 2020 — while twice during that period they defeated tonight’s opponents. Fiorentina, meanwhile, have also gone unbeaten in their last four opening-day fixtures, recording three draws and one victory. Football purists hoping to see a head-to-head battle between two exciting young newcomers, Moro and Mastantuono, are unlikely to get their wish, at least from the opening whistle. Roma coach Gian Piero Gasperini has shuffled the pack and tried Soule, Cristante and Moro in the attacking midfield role during the final training sessions. When facing teams using a back four, Gasperini tends to opt for a 3-4-1-2 rather than his usual 3-4-2-1.🟡🔴 Ecco i convocati di Gian Piero #Gasperini per #RomaFiorentina:🧤 Svilar, De Marzi, Gollini🧱 Koulierakis, Ndicka, Molina, Hermoso, Mancini, Ziolkowski, Wesley, Lulli, Ghilardi🧠 Cristante, El Aynaoui, Koné, Pisilli, Mora⚽️ Castro, Malen, Soulé, Dybala, Vaz#ASRoma pic.twitter.com/HvzjTuJNoR— InfoRoma24 (@inforoma24) August 24, 2026 Soule is the favourite to start, having been tested in the role most frequently, although Gasperini could choose the more cautious option, which would provide Roma with greater balance: Cristante as the attacking midfielder. In Gasperini’s system, the player operating behind the two forwards is responsible for tracking the opposition playmaker when Roma are without the ball. This also explains why Paulo Dybala, unquestionably the most natural candidate for the trequartista role, is not being used there. Gasperini wants to preserve Dybala’s energy for attacking situations and does not want to burden him with excessive defensive duties.Surprise from Italy: Dybala's love story with Roma continuesDybala enjoyed an unusually consistent pre-season and, as a result, there are high hopes for him in Rome. After all, alongside Malen, he was one of the key figures in securing Champions League qualification at the end of last season, after eight years away from Europe’s elite competition. In general, we should see much the same Roma side as last season. The only certain change in the Giallorossi starting XI should be Molina, who has taken Celik’s place.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Fiorentina, by contrast, will look considerably different from last season, starting with their new head coach, Fabio Grosso, who is making his debut on the Viola bench. In defence, we should see new arrivals Joao Mario, Dragușin and Valdepenas, while Aouar and, most likely, Pellegrino are expected to feature in attack. “Most likely” because Moise Kean is increasingly close to a move to Como, and it remains uncertain whether he will play tonight. There is also a small chance that Mastantuono could start, although Gudmundsson and Aouar are currently ahead of him in the pecking order. Roma will be without Lorenzo Pellegrini, who is expected to return to Gasperini’s disposal in 15 days, while the visitors traveled without Parisi, who is not expected to return until 2027.SERIE A – MATCHDAY 1SaturdayInter – Monza 4-1 (1-1)/Calhanoglu 6, Zielinski 48, Esposito 55, Bisseck 63 – Varela 29/Udinese – Como 1-1 (1-0)/Kamara 29 – Douvikas 54/Genoa – Napoli 0-2 (0-0)/De Bruyne 82 – Vergara 87/Parma – Cagliari 0-1 (0-0)/Romano 79/SundayFrosinone – Juventus 0-1 (0-1)/Bremer 22/Venezia – Lecce 0-2 (0-2)/Gorter 46, Gabriel 80/Atalanta – Sassuolo 2-1 (1-0)/Raspadori 6, Krstovic 65 – Odenthal 55/Torino – Milan 1-2 (0-0)/Adams 90+3 – Cisse 64, Rabiot 66/Monday19.30: (2.25) Bologna (3.35) Lazio (3.50)21.45: (1.65) Roma (4.00) Fiorentina (6.00)***odds are subject to change***
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