Roma Host Lille Looking to Keep Near-Perfect Start Intact

Tomorrow’s Europa League spotlight lands firmly on Roma as they welcome Lille to the Stadio Olimpico in what is definitely the most high-profile match of the second match day of league play. This Giallorossi core should be confident heading into this one, given the fact that they’ve only lost one of their last 22 Europa League group stage matches at home, but open questions about potential issues surrounding fatigue due to Gasperini’s run, run, run mentality. Here’s what GPG had to say about that in the pre-match presser:

The fatigue isn’t physical; it’s not easy to get out of games like the derby. Verona had a better reaction than us, but I never thought it was a physical problem. Always thinking about the next game isn’t easy.

Easy for him to say when he’s not the one running out there, but I digress. Despite the valid concerns about tired legs, Roma can take some solace in the matchup. Lille come into this game riding steady form, unbeaten in their last seven European outings, but their squad leans heavily on veteran striker Olivier Giroud to finish chances. Roma’s real battle will be less about Lille’s firepower and more about whether Gasperini’s midfield trio can find the balance between pressing with intensity and conserving enough energy to see out 90 minutes. Against a side that thrives on transition moments, any cracks in that structure could be costly.

What to Watch For

Ndicka v. Giroud (2025)

The key matchup that will undoubtedly swing this tie is Olivier Giroud against Evan Ndicka. The Frenchman may be 38, but there’s no doubt that in Lille’s system, the World Cup winner is still a nightmare to deal with when the ball goes wide. That Lille system also seems to know exactly how to weaponize him: isolate him on the far post, feed the cross, watch him turn half-chances into goals. He doesn’t need to run anymore, thankfully for Lille: he just needs a yard of space and the right angle to punish a defense and a goalkeeper.

That’s where Roma’s stalwart in the defense Evan Ndicka comes in, and comes in in a big way. Roma’s Ivorian center-back has been an absolute rock when tasked with one-on-one duels in the box. He ranked near the top of Serie A in aerials won last season for a reason. Still, Giroud is the exact style of striker who will test his positioning as much as his strength. Given his usual tactical setup, Gasperini will undoubtedly expect his back line to step high and squeeze Lille’s service, but all it takes is one lapse of concentration for Giroud to punish you. If Ndicka can keep Giroud on his back foot instead of dictating how Roma’s defense acts throughout the match, this one might just be an open and shut case. But keeping Giroud on his back foot is easier said than done, even in the twilight of his career.

Will Ghilardi Get a Shot?

Another subplot worth keeping an eye on is whether we finally see Daniele Ghilardi get real minutes in a Roma shirt tomorrow. So far, Gasperini has been reluctant to throw the 22-year-old into the fire, instead relying mainly on his starting eleven defenders in Ndicka, Mancini, and Mario Hermoso, while allowing Jan Ziolkowski his first real chance last weekend against Verona. Ghilardi certainly has the talent to see the pitch—there’s a reason he was brought in from Verona in the first place, after all—but I’d wager that Gasperini hasn’t played him yet because he wants to instill trust in his starting defenders and didn’t want Ghilardi’s first match in Rome to be against his former club. Add in the fact that Gasperini is notoriously picky about trusting defenders who haven’t yet proven their understanding of his aggressive pressing schemes, and Ghilardi may be slower to learn that as well.

With all of this said, we’ve seen this movie before with Gian Piero Gasperini and young defenders. Back in Bergamo, it took Gasperini months before he fully trusted Giorgio Scalvini, and now Scalvini is the model of what patience in development can produce: a defender who marries composure on the ball with positional discipline. And he’s only 21! If we’re being optimistic, perhaps Ghilardi is on that same slow-burn trajectory, waiting for his window to crack open in a competitive European fixture. A cameo against Lille, even if it was just 15 minutes to close out a match where a win is beyond doubt, would be a positive sign for the Italy U-21 captain. It might just show that he’s not training depth for the side, and it might just show that he’s yet another exciting young Italian for Gian Piero Gasperini to blend into his starting lineup over time.