Roma travel to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona to face Napoli at 18:00 on Saturday 24 October in Serie A matchday 8. Gian Piero Gasperini's side arrive after a 4-0 win over Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League, while Napoli beat Bodø/Glimt 4-3 on the same evening.
Gasperini must again cope with a long list of absences. Lorenzo Pellegrini left the Slovan Bratislava game with a muscle problem to his flexor that proved to be a tear, which will keep him sidelined for about two months. Mile Svilar is out with a micro-fracture to his fifth toe and will return only in the coming weeks, so Pierluigi Gollini keeps his place in goal. Manu Koné is also unavailable, with his return expected later, and Paulo Dybala is still recovering from a small lesion to his calf muscle. The one bright note is Bryan Cristante, who is recovering from knee inflammation and could at least be named in the squad. Roma come into the game on a positive run. They beat Genoa 2-0 at the Olimpico to return to winning ways in Serie A after a draw at Como, then routed Slovan Bratislava 4-0 for their first win in the Champions League league phase. Hermoso, Molina, Pisilli and Malen scored against the Slovaks, and Mancini, N'Dicka and Soulé were initially rested.
Roma are expected to line up in a 3-4-2-1: Gollini; Mancini, N'Dicka, Hermoso; Lulli, de Roon, Pisilli, Wesley; Soulé, Mora; Malen. Wesley and Lulli are the favourites on the flanks, while de Roon and Pisilli are likely to keep their midfield places. Soulé should return to the starting line-up after coming off the bench in the Champions League, and Mora is favoured to complete the attack in Dybala's absence. Malen is set to lead the line after returning to scoring against Slovan Bratislava from the penalty spot. Mancini or Balerdi and Pisilli or Cristante are the two open selection battles. Napoli are expected to repeat their 3-4-2-1 under Massimiliano Allegri, with Meret in goal, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani and Badiashile in defence, and Politano and Spinazzola, both former Roma players, on the flanks. Lobotka and McTominay start in midfield, with Lang and De Bruyne behind Hojlund. Lang or Giovane is a battle for one place, and Anguissa is a candidate to return from the start after coming off the bench last time out. Napoli are without Buongiorno, Favasuli, Neres and Alisson Santos, while Vergara is recovering from a calf problem.
Napoli won 4-3 against Bodø/Glimt at the Maradona, with Politano opening the scoring, McTominay scoring twice and an own goal from Bjørtuft completing the tally. There have been 90 official meetings between the clubs in Campania, with Napoli winning 39, Roma winning 25 and 26 ending level. Roma have not won at the Napoli ground since the 2017/18 season, when they triumphed 4-2. The last meeting at the Maradona, on 15 February 2026, ended 2-2. The prefect of Naples, Michele di Bari, has banned the sale of tickets to residents of the Lazio region for the match, a restriction that applies to the whole sale and not just the away section. The match will be shown live on DAZN, which has included it among the five games this season broadcast free of charge, so it is accessible to users without an active subscription. Official line-ups will be announced about an hour before kick-off.