Fonseca: Pellegrini is ready to play

Sunday's match at the Stadio Olimpico gets underway at 15:00 local time.

Here's what the boss had to say to the assembled journalists...

Brescia come into this game on the back of four defeats. What sort of match are you expecting?

“I'm expecting a difficult match. They've changed coach and they've already played one game with [Fabio] Grosso in charge. I watched their games against Napoli and Inter and they're a good team. They play nice football and have good players, so I'm expecting a tough game tomorrow.”

Will Gianluca Mancini move back into defence now that some of your injured players have recovered?

“Mancini is a centre-back and he'll go back to playing in his usual position – that's to be expected.”

Edin Dzeko has only scored once in his last 10 games for Roma and Bosnia. What's going on there?

“I don't see any problem with Dzeko. I'm sure he'll be back among the goals soon enough.”

Why do you think Roma haven't won anything for a while?

“I've only just joined Roma this season. I can't talk about the past. I'm working to make Roma a team that plays to win every single match. I'm determined to turn Roma into a successful side.”

At the moment, Dzeko is the only player you have no natural replacement for. Are you considering any different options?

“No, Dzeko will start as usual.”

How is Cengiz Under?

“Cengiz is fine and ready to play. He's perfectly fit.”

You went to the meeting with referees this week. Do you think we'll see an improvement in how VAR is used?

“I went to two meetings with referees to understand VAR situations, both with UEFA and in Rome. Now I understand better how referees apply the rules, which you may or may not agree with. It's not easy to apply these rules.”

Will Alessandro Florenzi play tomorrow?

“We'll see about that tomorrow. In any case, I don't base my decisions on what happens in international matches or on what the papers write. When I pick a player I do so because I think it's the right thing to do. If I think he should play, he will. Florenzi has always given 100%. He's our captain and a great professional.”

Can you give us an update on the injury situation?

“[Leonardo] Spinazzola isn't ready yet – he only started training two days ago. [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan is close to full fitness - he's trained with us but he's not quite ready yet. Both should be available for the next match. [Javier] Pastore took a knock to the hip and we've decided he won't be involved for this game but he will be for the next one. [Lorenzo] Pellegrini is fit and ready to play.”

Where do Roma need to improve to move up to the next level?

“In all areas. Mentality, tactics, fitness. We must work on and improve all areas.”

Antonio Conte has said he gives his players advice on sex too, as far as effort, positions and duration is concerned. Is that something you concern yourself with?

“I'm not going to comment on things other coaches have said. As far as sex is concerned, I'm only interested in my only situation, not what other people do.”

Did you expect Nicolo Zaniolo to do so well for Italy? Could you see him as a striker?

“I've always said Zaniolo is a a highly talented youngster who must keep improving. He can play anywhere in attack.”

A few weeks ago you said that [Amadou] Diawara needed to improve the way he responds when the team loses possession. Is he making progress?

“Diawara is fit and he's ready to play. He's spent the last two weeks working on that and he's ready to improve in that sense.”