AS Roma vs. Cremonese: Predicted Formations | OneFootball

Roma begin their quest for their tenth Coppa Italia title on Wednesday evening when they host Cremonese in the round of 16 at the Stadio Olimpico.

A trip to the quarterfinals on the line–both sides will be extra motivated to get back to winning ways after dropping their respective league fixtures this past weekend. The Giallorossi were narrowly defeated by Juventus in Torino while the visitors, who sit 5th in the Serie B table, fell to Palermo in Sicilia.

Kick-off is scheduled for 21.00 CET at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

Roma

Faced with a growing list of absentees, Roma will need all hands on deck Wednesday when they begin the hunt for their tenth Coppa Italia crown.

Manager Jose Mourinho has his work cut out after his list of unavailable players got even bigger after Saturday’s defeat against Juve. Still without Chris Smalling and Tammy Abraham, the Special One will be more shorthanded than usual thanks to the absences of Gianluca Mancini (injured) along with Evan Ndicka and Houssem Aouar, both of whom are on international duty for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

As a result, Mourinho will be forced to pair Diego Llorente with fullback Zeki Celik and midfielder Bryan Cristante in defence. Meanwhile, Andrea Belotti is expected to start alongside Romelu Lukaku in attack with Paulo Dybala expected to be rested.

Cremonese

The visitors, meanwhile, enter Wednesday as the last remaining Serie B side in the competition. Although they travel to the capital on the heels of a brutal defeat against fellow promotion candidates Palermo, they’ll still be confident given their last Coppa Italia meeting with Roma.

Less than one year ago, the Grigiorossi eliminated the Giallorossi in the quarterfinals after a stunning 2-1 victory in early at the Olimpico. Despite their eventual defeat to Fiorentina in the semifinals, Cremonese will maintain confidence in their ability to achieve a positive outcome, drawing inspiration from the memorable result in last February’s encounter that remains vivid in their memories.

As for his squad, manager Giovanni Stroppa will also have to deal with multiple key absences. First choice goalkeeper Mouhamadou Sarr is out for the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament. They’ll also be without arguably their best midfielder and the team’s second leading scorer Charles Pickel, who’s also away on international duty in preparation for AFCON.

Predicted Lineups

ROMA (3-5-2): Svilar; Celik, Cristante, Llorente; Karsdorp, Bove, Paredes, Pellegrini, Spinazzola; Belotti, Lukaku

Unavailable: Tammy Abraham, Evan Ndicka, Gianluca Mancini, Houssem Aouar, Chris Smalling

CREMONESE (3-5-2): Jungdal; Antov, Ravanelli, Bianchetti; Sernicola, Collocolo, Castagnetti, Abrego, Quagliata; Ciofani, Okereke

Unavailable: Mouhamadou Sarr, Alessandro Tuia, Charles Pickel, Cristian Buonaiuto, Frank Tsadjout