Roma vs Fiorentina: A High-Level Opening Night With Two Very Different Starting Points

There is no need to wait for the season to develop before this fixture reveals something important about both teams. Roma begin their Serie A campaign at the Stadio Olimpico against a Fiorentina side arriving with a new coach, a reshaped squad and ambitions of making a stronger impression after last season. Gian Piero Gasperini has the advantage of continuity after guiding Roma to third place and 73 points last season, but he has also acknowledged that the new campaign starts from zero. Fabio Grosso, meanwhile, takes charge of his first competitive Fiorentina match after an active summer in which the Viola added several new faces, including Franco Mastantuono and Radu Drăgușin. Fiorentina have already gained competitive rhythm by beating Benevento 4-1 in the Coppa Italia, while Roma’s recent matches were friendlies, making the opening phase particularly difficult to read. The Serie A itself describes Roma-Fiorentina as a big-match encounter closing the first round, with kick-off scheduled for 20:45 at the Olimpico.

Gasperini’s pre-match comments suggest that Roma will not simply rely on last season’s momentum to solve the opening fixture. He has highlighted the importance of starting strongly and pointed specifically to Fiorentina’s extensive transfer activity and the challenge of facing Grosso’s team immediately. Roma have also been adjusting their squad, with Nahuel Molina arriving to replace Zeki Çelik, Santiago Castro taking over the role previously occupied by Artem Dovbyk and Konstantinos Koulierakis adding another defensive profile. Paulo Dybala is another important storyline because Gasperini says the Argentine has completed a full pre-season without injury and looks physically stronger than last season. Matías Soulé has also received particularly strong praise from the coach after recovering from the groin problem that affected him previously, with Gasperini saying he has returned to excellent physical condition. That combination gives Roma a potentially dangerous attacking structure, but the first competitive match will reveal how quickly the new pieces can operate within Gasperini’s system.

Fiorentina’s challenge is to prevent Roma from turning home possession into repeated attacks between the lines, particularly around Dybala and Soulé. Grosso’s side has undergone considerable change, meaning the visitors may need to balance attacking ambition with the defensive discipline required against a Roma team comfortable playing with intensity and territorial pressure. The absence of Fabiano Parisi removes an established defensive option, with the left-back sidelined by a knee injury, while Roma have their own personnel concerns ahead of the opener. Lorenzo Pellegrini remains unavailable after his injury absence, and Devyne Rensch has also been left out of the squad because of muscular problems. Roma’s official squad list nevertheless contains 21 players, including Molina, Wesley, Cristante, Koné, Dybala, Soulé, Malen, Castro and Rodrigo Mora. With no official starting XI released yet, it would be inaccurate to turn probable lineups into confirmed teams, so the personnel information below is limited to players whose availability has been established.

The wider pre-match discussion is centred on whether Roma’s continuity can overcome Fiorentina’s element of unpredictability. Roma finished third last season and have retained the core of Gasperini’s starting structure, while Fiorentina are beginning a new cycle under Grosso after an extensive reconstruction of their squad. The visitors’ 4-1 Coppa Italia victory over Benevento provided an encouraging competitive rehearsal, but Roma represent a substantially different test in terms of pressure, atmosphere and defensive demands. Gasperini has openly admitted that the opening weeks contain uncertainty because several players returned from the World Cup at different stages of preparation, while Molina only joined the group this week after playing in the final with Argentina. That makes the first 20 or 30 minutes especially interesting, because Roma may need patience before their tactical relationships become fully established. Fiorentina, meanwhile, have the opportunity to exploit any early disorganisation and demonstrate that their summer reconstruction can immediately translate into a competitive performance against one of Serie A’s strongest home sides.

🩺 Official Injury & Absence Report

AS Roma — Confirmed Absences
Long-Term / IR	Lorenzo Pellegrini	Injury absence continuing into the new season; unavailable for the Fiorentina match.
Out / Ruled Out	Devyne Rensch	Muscular problems; omitted from Roma’s official squad for the Fiorentina match.

ACF Fiorentina — Confirmed Absence
Long-Term / IR	Fabiano Parisi	Cruciate ligament injury; expected to remain unavailable for the Roma fixture.

Roma’s official squad announcement confirms that Pellegrini and Rensch are absent from the matchday group, while current match reporting identifies Rensch’s muscular issue and Pellegrini’s continuing injury absence. Fiorentina’s Parisi is the confirmed long-term absentee, with his cruciate ligament injury keeping him out. No additional player has been placed in a questionable category because the available current information does not provide a sufficiently official basis for doing so.

📋 Matchday Personnel Before the Official XIs

The official starting lineups had not yet been published when this preview was prepared. Therefore, the following tables deliberately avoid presenting predicted elevens as confirmed selections. Every player listed is drawn from the current official Roma squad announcement or established pre-match team information. The confirmed starting XI should only be inserted after the clubs publish their matchday lineups.

AS Roma — Key Matchday Personnel
Role	Player	Confirmed Information
Head Coach	Gian Piero Gasperini	Roma head coach and architect of last season’s third-place Serie A finish.
Goalkeeper	Mile Svilar	Included in Roma’s official matchday squad.
Forward	Paulo Dybala	Included in the squad; Gasperini praised his fitness after a full pre-season.
Forward	Donyell Malen	Included in the official squad after returning from the World Cup period.
Midfielder	Manu Koné	Included in the official squad and identified by Gasperini as an important Roma player.
New Arrival	Nahuel Molina	Included in the squad after joining Roma and returning from Argentina’s World Cup campaign.

ACF Fiorentina — Key Matchday Personnel
Role	Player / Staff	Confirmed Information
Head Coach	Fabio Grosso	New Fiorentina head coach beginning his competitive tenure with the club.
Goalkeeper	David de Gea	Established Fiorentina goalkeeper and part of the squad for the opening league fixture.
Forward	Moise Kean	Included in Fiorentina’s attacking group for the season opener.
Forward	Franco Mastantuono	Summer arrival from Real Madrid and involved in Fiorentina’s Coppa Italia victory over Benevento.
Midfielder	Nicolò Fagioli	Included among Fiorentina’s available midfield options for the opening fixture.
Midfielder	Rolando Mandragora	Part of Fiorentina’s midfield group listed for the match.

What the Pre-Match Coverage Is Saying

• Roma want to build on third place: Gasperini says last season’s 73 points are history and the new campaign begins from zero.
• Fiorentina are considered a serious early test: Gasperini specifically highlighted their transfer activity and Grosso’s arrival.
• Dybala enters the opener in strong condition: Gasperini says the Argentine completed a full pre-season without injury and looks physically stronger.
• Soulé has recovered: Gasperini described the winger as being in excellent shape after overcoming his previous groin problem.
• Roma have confirmed their matchday squad: Rensch and Pellegrini are absent, while the squad includes the major summer arrivals and established attacking players.
• Fiorentina’s competitive preparation is already underway: Grosso’s side beat Benevento 4-1 in the Coppa Italia before travelling to Rome.

The Tactical Question: Can Fiorentina Disrupt Roma’s Connections?

Roma’s potential advantage is not simply the presence of Dybala or Malen but the way Gasperini can create several attacking connections around them. The coach has indicated that the basic structure has remained relatively stable while the new arrivals add different qualities to the squad. Molina gives Roma an experienced wide option, while Soulé’s improved physical condition could allow him to operate with greater intensity than during the second half of last season. Fiorentina’s task will be to deny Roma comfortable combinations between the midfield and attacking players rather than merely defending the penalty area. The visitors also have enough technical quality to create problems if Roma’s wing-backs push too high and leave space behind them, especially through the pace and movement of their forwards. The opening exchanges should therefore reveal whether this becomes a Roma-controlled positional match or a more open contest in which Fiorentina can exploit the transitional spaces created by the home side’s attacking ambition.

Match Details

AS Roma vs ACF Fiorentina
Competition	Serie A Enilive	Matchday 1
Date	Monday, 24 August 2026	20:45 CEST
Venue	Stadio Olimpico	Rome, Italy
Referee	Matteo Marcenaro	Italian Serie A

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