Roma Face Bologna With European Fate Slipping From Their Grip

With just five matches remaining in the 2025-26 Serie A season, time is running short for the Giallorossi to improve their table position and secure European qualification for the 2026-27 centennial season. While all Romanisti would’ve loved to see Roma playing in Europe’s elite competition during such a historic season in the club’s history, Champions League qualification looks very unlikely after the Giallorossi fell to five points behind Juve following last weekend’s results.

That said, Como’s recent poor run of form has allowed Roma to pull level with the upstarts from Italy’s lake region—something that could be crucial when all is said and done. With Lazio in the Coppa Italia final, Europa League qualification could come only through a fifth-place finish. So Roma will be keen to surpass Como at season’s end. A win on Saturday against the Rossoblu could be a big step toward making that a reality.

In his pre-match presser Gian Piero Gasperini was asked about the club’s stated objectives and whether management had set the Champions League as a goal.

“No, there’s not [a minimum target set by the club], but we’re still thinking about it. We’re still looking above us. When it’s no longer possible to aim that high, we’ll settle for other things.”

“It would be good if we could [put together a run of form]. If we keep winning, we’re probably still in time. But obviously with every week that passes, the margin for error diminishes. You can’t make any more mistakes.

“As for the other question [talking to the owners about next season], no, because we’re still busy with this season and we must remain busy until the 24th of May. We’ll think about the future when the club deems it right.”

To achieve the results necessary to reach its maximum points over the remainder of the campaign, Gasperini will need all hands on deck. In that regard, he’ll get a big boost from Paulo Dybala, who has finally returned to the fray after missing nearly three months. Dybala’s absence has left Roma shorthanded in the attacking midfield, especially when coupled with the prolonged absence of fellow Argentine Matías Soulé.

Gasperini spoke on Dybala’s return and what his role could be at the Renato Dell’Ara on Saturday.

“It seems unlikely that he’ll be in the starting eleven. Paulo started working again this week after more than 80 days out of action, nearly 90 days, in fact. So, no, I’m ruling out him starting the game. When a player comes back after many months out it’s hard for them to slot into the starting team. Let’s hope – I certainly hope – that he can come on over the course of the match. However, we’re playing away and it’s more a question of being in the swing of things and confidence – his confidence in his ability to perform. It’s not a question of fitness, but rather of kicking the ball, shooting and tackling. That’s to be expected when a player has been out of action for a long spell.”

Gasperini will certainly be salivating at the opportunity to get Dybala and star January signing Donyell Malen linking up, after seeing the two play together just once before Dybala went down. He also addressed that when he asked how the next five matches could affect Dybala’s future in the capital.

“They’ll certainly have an impact on the end of Roma’s season. Having him available again is clearly an added value. He and Malen have only played together once. We’re all happy and curious to see them playing together, perhaps alongside another player, but maybe not. That’s the most important thing. It’s difficult to talk about the future at the moment. We have five games left and that’s quite a lot. Sometimes people talk as if we’re already at the end of the season but five matches are a decent number – it’s 15 points to be won. Right now I’m trying to keep the players’ focus on tomorrow’s game and on our coming games. We can’t afford to mess up. We must play all five games with total commitment and the desire to earn as many points as possible.”

Also expected back for this match is Wesley, who has been out since being injured during the international break with Brazil. Manu Konè and Lorenzo Pellegrini remain out, though.

Gasperini will hope that the returns of Wesley and Dybala will be enough for Roma to get a result similar to the one in August, when Roma topped Bologna 1-0 at the Olimpico. In that match, Wesley scored the decisive goal. But Bologna will come into this one feeling good about its chances of getting a result at home against a Roma side that it eliminated from Europa League play behind a 4-3 extra-time victory at the Olimpico, which followed a 1-1 draw in Bologna.

Gasperini was asked about those two fixtures against the Rossoblu in Europa League.

“The team did a lot of good things. There were mistakes too of course, but lots of good things. The two matches were very good overall, and I think we probably did more. We lost in extra time having played very well in both legs, and come from behind. We found ourselves having to come from behind in the second leg, from 1-0 down and then after they went 3-1 up. I think we performed well in both games. Then they scored in extra time and that’s understandable because both games were evenly matched. Bologna are an excellent, well-drilled team with lots of options on the bench who played in the Champions League last season. They did well in that game too. But I think Roma produced two strong performances, as we did against Atalanta. If I look at our recent performances, including the last game we played, I can say that I’m happy with my team.”

Gasperini will of course be happier tomorrow evening if Roma heads back to Trigoria will all three points in hand. To do that Gasperini attempt to get the right XI on the pitch from the opening whistle to take the game to Bologna. That line-up could look something like this.