Roma's Youthful Squad Faces Udinese in Serie A Clash
Roma travel light on stars but heavy on belief this weekend, as Gian Piero Gasperini leans into youth for the trip to Udinese in Serie A.
The Roma coach has named a 22-man squad that includes five teenagers, a bold roll of the dice from a side still unbeaten after nine league games of the 2026-27 campaign. Injuries have bitten hard. Paulo Dybala is out. Manu Kone is out. First-choice goalkeeper Mile Svilar is out. Lorenzo Pellegrini will also stay in the capital and miss Saturday’s clash.
Yet Roma do not arrive in Udine looking wounded. They arrive looking dangerous.
Gasperini turns to the kids
With Svilar sidelined, Pierluigi Gollini is set to continue in goal, the experienced deputy now thrust into a central role. Behind him, the bench tells its own story: Devis Vasquez and 19-year-old Giorgio De Marzi complete a goalkeeping trio that underlines how stretched – and how brave – Roma’s selection has become.
The outfield options carry the same theme. Four teenagers join De Marzi in the travelling party.
Emanuele Lulli, 19, is the headline act among them. The wing-back has scored in each of his last two Serie A appearances and is no longer just a promising name from the academy; he is a live weapon in Gasperini’s system. His celebration at the Stadio Olimpico against Cagliari, alongside Gianluca Mancini, felt like a snapshot of Roma’s present colliding with its future.
Alongside Lulli is summer signing Rodrigo Mora, also 19, still bedding into Italian football but trusted enough to be part of an unbeaten squad on the road. Then come the homegrown prospects: Alessandro Di Nunzio, 19, and Mandjou Camara, just 17, both pulled into a first-team environment that is demanding, unforgiving, and potentially career-defining.
This is not window dressing. With key senior figures missing, these youngsters may be asked to do more than simply make up the numbers.
Unbeaten Roma, unraveling Udinese
Roma’s confidence is rooted in results. Nine games, no defeats. Their most recent outing, a 4-2 win over Cagliari, underlined the attacking punch Gasperini has injected into the side. It was open, chaotic at times, but it showed a team that can outscore problems, even when not at full strength.
Udinese, by contrast, are spiraling.
Six straight defeats under Kosta Runjaic have left them clinging to safety, hovering just above the relegation zone on five points. A team in freefall, a coach under pressure, a stadium waiting to see whether this is the night the slide stops or the anxiety deepens.
Roma walk into that tension with the swagger of a side that knows it can hurt opponents in multiple ways, even without Dybala’s invention or Pellegrini’s leadership. Gasperini’s methods demand intensity, bravery on the ball, and relentless pressing – attributes that often suit young legs and fearless minds.
The pressure should sit squarely on Udinese. Yet that is precisely where Gasperini’s Roma have thrived this season.
The squad in full
Gasperini’s 22-man group for Udine:
- Goalkeepers: Devis Vasquez, Giorgio De Marzi, Pierluigi Gollini
- Defenders: Devyne Rensch, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Evan Ndicka, Nahuel Molina, Mario Hermoso, Gianluca Mancini, Leonardo Balerdi, Wesley Franca, Emanuele Lulli, Daniele Ghilardi
- Midfielders: Bryan Cristante, Marten De Roon, Niccolo Pisilli, Alessandro Di Nunzio, Rodrigo Mora
An unbeaten run on one side, a six-game losing streak on the other, and a Roma squad stitched together with youth and resilience. In a season that already feels like a test of depth and nerve, this trip to Udine may tell Gasperini just how far his kids can carry the weight of expectation.
