Atalanta vs. as Roma: How the Giallorossi Should Line Up in Serie A Game

It was always going to be nigh-on impossible to top the start to last season, but after 11 games, this campaign still ranks among the best in Roma's history and they are favourites to continue the fine form away to Atalanta this weekend. 

Rudi Garcia's Giallorossi have racked up eight wins and a draw so far, which averages 2.27 points per game. That's just behind the 2003-04 season, when Fabio Capello's side actually went 15 games unbeaten before losing to AC Milan, the eventual Scudetto winners. Ranked second was the beginning of the march to the title in 2000-01, and then, of course, is Garcia's remarkable debut on the Olimpico bench in 2013-14. 

That time, Torino ended the Lupi's opening charge. When the two sides met in the previous round, however, the Granata were comfortably dispatched 3-0. And while last year there was a sense of deflation, of some fatigue setting in, after that ferocious beginning, this season it looks like Roma have still to find their best form. 

For one thing, they've been without Leandro Castan and Kevin Strootman—two players who should almost automatically become starters once fit. Injuries elsewhere—to Maicon, for example—and shaky starts—Ashley Cole on the opposite flank—have also held the Giallorossi back to a certain extent. If Cole finds his feet and the aforementioned trio of injured stars can stay fit, this side can improve significantly between now and the end of the season. 

For Garcia, the game against Atalanta comes right before an away trip to Russia to face CSKA Moscow and a home game against struggling Inter, so it seems an ideal opportunity to rest key personnel.

La Dea are normally an intimidating prospect at Bergamo's Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, but Stefano Colantuono's men are currently just above the relegation zone. Having scored just two goals at home so far, they'll struggle to unlock Roma whatever side the 50-year-old Frenchman chooses to start. 

Lukasz Skorupski has been getting some time between the posts this term for Roma, but it seems most likely that Garcia will stick with the experience of Morgan De Sanctis. 

In front of the 37-year-old 'keeper, there were options, even without Castan. Kostas Manolas, Davide Astori and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa have all been performing well in central defence, but the French defender is struggling with a thigh injury he picked up on international duty and will almost certainly be out for a couple of weeks.

Castan had been back training, and might have started this game, but breaking reports in the Gazzetta dello Sport suggest that the former Corinthians star will now undergo brain surgery to treat a Cerebral Edema—an accumulation of fluids that causes dizziness and loss of consciousness—that is not thought to be life-threatening. 

Both he and Maicon had been preparing with separate programmes from the rest of the group, however, so it's not yet clear how match-fit either player is. Should Maicon not start, Vasilis Torosidis will start on the right with Cole—or perhaps Torosidis' countryman Jose Holebas—on the opposite flank. 

In midfield, Garcia should start Daniele De Rossi, who won his 100th cap last Sunday against Croatia with Italy, because the most obvious alternative, Seydou Keita, was involved in Mali's win over Algeria in Bamako on Wednesday. 

Alongside, Strootman could make his first start since last March after coming on in the final minutes against Torino. That would allow Radja Nainggolan to rest ahead of the Champions League and Inter games, as the Belgian is still Garcia's best option on the left of the midfield trio while the Dutch star regains the match fitness he'll need to challenge for the role. 

Miralem Pjanic should also start, as whenever the Bosnian playmaker has been absent, Roma's attacking thrust has suffered. 

In front, Garcia's embarrassment of attacking riches should cause little problem with so many games coming up before Christmas. There is serious competition for the three attacking spots, but with Gervinho—a manager's favourite—and Juan Iturbe likely being saved for Moscow, Adem Ljajic and Alessandro Florenzi should feature behind Mattia Destro, as Francesco Totti is suspended for the game. 

Predicted starting XI (4-3-3): De Sanctis; Torosidis, Manolas, Castan, Cole; De Rossi, Strootman, Pjanic; Florenzi, Ljajic, Destro.

Who would you like to feature against Atalanta? Let me know on Twitter, @ColliOBrien. 

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