Fonseca: Veretout is in great form right now

The Serie A meeting at the Stadio Mario Rigamonti gets underway at 19:30 local time.

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

A short while ago the Europa League draw was made. What are your thoughts?

“At this stage of the competition they are all great sides, but we don’t have to think about that right now. We have the game against Sevilla first and we can only think about that. Then, if we win that one, we can see what is next. At this stage though they are all good sides.”

Chris Smalling’s loan ends with the conclusion of the league season – do you expect him to be available for you in the Europa League as well?

“We are working on that. I am confident that Smalling will also be able to play in the Europa League.”

To stick with the new three-man defence will you be recalling Federico Fazio tomorrow?

“Yes, we will play with three at the back tomorrow and he will replace Bryan Cristante.”

How is Edin Dzeko?

“We will see today, we can’t forget that he has played in both of the last two games and has not had much time to recover. He really worked hard, especially defensively, in the last game. I talked with him yesterday and he was a bit tired. We will talk again today, to understand how he is doing, and then we will make a decision.”

In the absence of Chris Smalling and Bryan Cristante, could Aleksandar Kolarov play in central defence?

“As I said just now, Fazio will start tomorrow. I do think, however, that Kolarov could play in that role too. He’s done it in the past and he’s been doing it in training.”

Are you pleased with how Lorenzo Pellegrini has done this season? In what ways does he still need to grow as a playmaker – and what does he lack to move from a player with great potential to a confirmed star?

“As you know, I am never satisfied. I have complete confidence in Pellegrini, I really like him as a player, he’s great. He’s a young boy who still needs to improve but we cannot forget that he has had a few injury problems throughout this season. I think he’s still a young player with room to develop.”

If you had to put it in percentages, in your opinion how much is physical fitness important to the results, and how much is it the mentality, the tactical preparation and the individual talent?

“All of those aspects are important. If we are good physically then we can be mentally in a better place too. Everything is related. I can’t speak about it in terms of percentages. They are all important aspects that, as I said, are all related to each other.”

A couple of players have been left out of the squad for recent games; Bruno Peres and Justin Kluivert. Can you explain those decisions?

“They are different situations. With Bruno Peres, it was a technical choice. As far as Kluivert goes, I didn’t like how he trained ahead of the match, I spoke to him and told him that for that reason he was not in the squad to face Parma. But he has responded to that really well; yesterday he trained well and if he trains well again today then he is an option for me once more.”

Have you received any guarantees about Smalling’s availability in August?

“We are working to have him for the Europa League; I’m very confident of that.”

If you stick with the setup you used against Parma, who is the best player to replace the suspended Henrikh Mkhitaryan? Pastore, Perez, Zaniolo, Kluivert, Perotti?

“They are all players that could play tomorrow in Micki’s place. We will see tomorrow who I go with.”

How many minutes is Nicolo Zaniolo capable of playing?

“As I have always said, he was out for a long time so we really have to think about the right way to give him chances to play. That being said, I always have to think about the team first – that’s the most important thing. If there is the opportunity then he will get some more playing time, but if not then he won’t be involved.”

Is Kolarov in worse condition than Spinazzola, or will he be back to starting tomorrow?

“Spinazzola was a choice I made and he has played well in the past two games. But I have to say something: if tomorrow I want to go with Kolarov then I know he will be ready, he always trains well and with focus. I know he’s ready.”

Against Parma a lot of crosses didn’t come off. What’s happening?

“It depends a bit on the opponent and the flow of the game. Parma are a side that cover the penalty box well, they bring a lot of players back. On other occasions though we need to get better at two things: finding spaces and the choice of ball we put in. Those don’t depend on the opponent.”

Will you make just a few changes for this game once again?

“As you already know, both Cristante and Micki are suspended. But I don’t want to change a lot. We have the situation with Dzeko and we will evaluate that to see if he is ready. After that there are a few other decisions, but I don’t want to change a lot.”

Up to now Jordan Veretout has been one of the best players. For the characteristics he brings, is he undroppable?

“No player is undroppable at Roma – or in any team. But Veretout is in a great run of form; he’s playing well and he’s full of confidence. Right now he’s clearly a very important player for the team.”