Roma arrive in Turin on 14 September 2026 three wins into the league season, having scored ten goals and conceded just one. Torino, sitting 13th, are not a natural match for them on paper, though a 2-1 win over Fiorentina last week showed Ignazio Abate's side can organise and hurt teams on the break. The path to a result for the home side runs through a compact shape and the discipline to hold it for ninety minutes without Saúl Coco, who is out injured.
Abate and Gasperini have never faced each other before, so there is no managerial history to lean on. Abate took charge at Torino on 12 June 2026, replacing Roberto D'Aversa, while Gasperini has been at Roma since June 2025 after Claudio Ranieri stepped aside. Structured counter attacks against an aggressive pressing system: the tactical contrast is genuine and neither manager has prior meetings to draw on.
Torino's last five reads W L L L W, a sequence that tells you everything about the tension Abate is managing. The three game losing streak that preceded the Fiorentina win was a concerning run and the margin for error against Roma is slim. Roma, by contrast, have gone W W W D W across the same stretch, with the league portion a perfect three from three: ten scored, one conceded, numbers that make life extremely short for any side that gives away possession in its own half.
Torino are without Coco through injury, which forces adjustments in central defence and places extra demands on the remaining backline to hold shape during transitions. Roma have their own concerns: Manu Koné is ruled out with a muscle issue and Lorenzo Pellegrini is a doubt with thigh trouble. Losing Koné removes the player who covers most of the pressing workload and defensive positioning in Roma's midfield, whoever fills that role will need to replicate the intensity rather than just the position. Pellegrini's absence narrows the creative options from deep, though with Donyell Malen, Matías Soulé and Paulo Dybala all available, the forward line compensates.
Abate has built Torino around a clear defensive structure, with Ché Adams as the target in behind, dropping into channels to receive, holding under pressure and timing his layoffs for runners arriving late. Nikola Vlasić provides the creativity from central areas, looking to slip balls behind full backs or switch play when space opens. Without Coco, Torino need to be even more disciplined at the back because Roma will target the gaps at the first sign of disorganisation.
Gasperini's Roma use a back three with the wing backs pushed high, pressing aggressively enough that teams rarely get time to settle in their own half. Malen already has five league goals this season, with Soulé and Dybala behind him. The loss of Koné takes some control out of midfield but three goals per game across three league matches suggests the forward line does not need much from behind it.
The central tactical question is what Torino can do with the ball when they win it. Malen's pace against Coco's replacement is the defensive battle worth watching, while Vlasić finding space before Roma's press arrives could determine how many counters Torino actually threaten. Abate's side will almost certainly sit deep and invite pressure but it only works if transitions are executed quickly and the shape holds for ninety minutes without Coco to organise it.
Roma have 21 wins in this fixture to Torino's considerably fewer and they have not lost here in five visits. Torino under Abate are not the same side Roma have routinely handled in recent years, though and a new managerial structure on each side means the historical record tells you less than usual about what to expect.
Adams is a threat in the air from dead balls and Vlasić delivers from set pieces, giving Torino a genuine weapon that Roma cannot entirely ignore. Roma defend well through their back three shape and it is not an obvious vulnerability but dead ball situations remain the most realistic route to goal for a side that will spend most of the match without the ball.
Roma 2-1 Torino. Torino will create chances through Adams and Vlasić on the break and the Fiorentina win showed Abate can organise a counter attacking side that scores. But Roma have scored ten and conceded one, Malen has five league goals and the pace to punish Coco's replacement repeatedly and nothing in Torino's recent record suggests they can hold a deficit against a side pressing this relentlessly. Roma win, Malen scores.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
