Spalletti: Strootman to start

"Strootman will play from the first minute," the Giallorossi head coach declared in this afternoon's pre-match conference.

The Dutch midfielder missed the trip to Napoli and came on during the second half of the victory against Palermo but is back in the starting line-up for the big game at Mapei Stadium in Week 10 of 2016-17.

Spalletti reckons Strootman has at least 60 minutes in his legs and trusts in his ability to have an influence on tomorrow's contest, which kicks off at 20:45 CEST: "Kevin can definitely play an hour at the height of his ability".

The Giallorossi No.6 has featured in eight of nine league games so far, starting in seven of them. Tomorrow will be his 52nd appearance for Roma in all competitions.

There was more good news in the Giallorossi camp as Spalletti announced that Antonio Rudiger is back in the squad.

"The news is Rudiger is back," Spalletti added. "The lad is fit, he's a fighter. He's not ready for 90 minutes yet but in the Primavera game he showed his usual levels of effort. Putting him in the starting XI would be a risk."