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“I think the time has come for Maxime [Gonalons] to start tomorrow,” the coach told the press. “I wanted to play him against Sampdoria in Genoa, but then I decided on different players for the other games.”
If the French midfielder does start the game, it will be his first official appearance for Roma since joining the club in the summer.
“He’s really come on in terms of getting to grips with the way we play," continued the coach. "Aside from the technical side of the game I expect a central midfielder to give the team real balance. I’m sure that he’ll make a big contribution and show that he’s the same player we saw at Lyon.”
Di Francesco also confirmed that Edin Dzeko will retain his place against Benevento.
“He had a number of shots against Verona and the goal gave him a confidence boost,” he said.
Alessandro Florenzi is expected to return to the bench, with Bruno Peres taking his place in the starting eleven.
“Alessandro is coming back from a long lay-off,” said Di Francesco. “It would be a big risk to start him in this fixture and I think we’re better off using him as an option off the bench.”
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