Malen’s Roma Raid De Rossi’s Genoa Den Amid Injury Armageddon

Picture this: Daniele De Rossi, Roma's eternal heartbeat turned Genoa gaffer, facing his old flame at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. It's Genoa vs Roma today, 18:00 CET, and the Giallorossi are limping in like they've been tackled by a squad of rogue shopping trolleys. With Paulo Dybala and Evan Ferguson sidelined post-surgery, plus Matias Soulé, Mario Hermoso and Artem Dovbyk AWOL, it's down to Donyell Malen to spearhead the attack.

Roma need this win to cling to that fourth spot and the Champions League dream, especially with Como soaring and Juventus back firing after their bonkers 3-3 thriller. Thursday's Europa League scrap with Bologna looms large too, so expect some serious squad shuffling. As Lorenzo Bettoni notes from Football Italia, it's a proper injury apocalypse for the visitors.

Line-Up Lottery: Who’s Starting Where?

Roma boss could go 3-4-2-1, per Sky Sport Italia whispers reported by Susy Campanale. Mile Svilar in goal, Daniele Ghilardi slotting into a back three with Gianluca Mancini and Evan Ndicka. Flanks to Zeki Çelik and Devyne Rensch, Manu Koné and Bryan Cristante holding midfield, then Niccolò Pisilli and Lorenzo Pellegrini pulling strings behind Malen.

But hold your horses – Gazzetta reckons Pisilli drops deeper to rest Cristante, unleashing Lorenzo Venturino, the 19-year-old January coup from Genoa's youth setup, as attacking mid. Talk about rubbing salt in the wound for the hosts! Genoa, fresh off a 2-0 spanking by Inter, might line up 3-5-2: Bijlow behind Marcandalli, Leo Østigård and Vásquez; Ellertsson, Ruslan Malinovskyi, Mortem Frendrup, Amorim and Martín across mid, Vitinha and Lorenzo Colombo up top.

Brook Norton-Cuffy is back but benched post-injury, while Jean Onana, Tommaso Baldanzi (on loan from Roma, cheekily) and Sebastian Otoa miss out for De Rossi's lot. Wesley Franca serves a ban too. It's a tactical chess match with revolving doors.

De Rossi’s Heart vs Head: The Emotional Rollercoaster

De Rossi, who bled yellow and red from academy lad to skipper, admits parking his Olimpico love affair is tough. "I've worked on putting the past aside, or it wouldn’t let me do my job properly," he told Sky Sport Italia, as per Campanale's coverage. The Genoa faithful make him feel at home though – their passion's the real deal.

Form-wise, Genoa sit 12th with 69 points? Wait, results show grit: 3-0 over Torino, but slips like 2-0 loss to Inter and 0-0 at Cremonese. Roma, 15th? No, chasing top four on 163 points? Recent hauls: 3-3 draw at Juventus, 3-0 Cremonese win, draws and a 2-0 Cagliari scalping.

This one's got needle – De Rossi's Genoa revamp to cage Roma's threats, Malen hunting goals like a man possessed (check his strikes vs Juventus, Napoli). Tune in via TNT Sports 2, DAZN (UK/Ireland), Paramount+ (USA), or our liveblog for the chaos. Will Venturino haunt his old club? Fancy a pint on Malen bagging one?

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