Fonseca: We'll need to be at our best against Bologna

The game at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara gets underway at 15:00 CET.

Here's everything the boss had to say ahead of the game...

What are your memories of Paolo Rossi?

“First of all, I have to say how sad I was to hear the news. He was a player that I really looked up to as a youngster. I remember his goals at the World Cup in Spain [in 1982]. It’s a sad moment for football, especially for Italian football. I am thinking about his family and friends at this sad time.”

Moving on to Sunday’s game, are Lorenzo Pellegrini and Jordan Veretout ready to start?

“Yes, Lorenzo and Jordan are back. They trained yesterday and today with the rest of the squad. They trained well and they will both start tomorrow.”

Chris Smalling has missed more than a month in Serie A: is he back to full fitness after his midweek runout?

“Yes, Chris has been out for a while. He needs to get back in the best shape possible, so it was good for him to play 45 minutes in Sofia – both to build his fitness and to get some confidence back too. But he still needs to work on his physical condition to be ready to play 90 minutes again.”

Is Sunday’s game key now, to ensure you don’t lose any ground on those sides in front of you?

“Every game is important and we want to always go out there aiming to win. I don’t want to win tomorrow just because we didn’t win against Sassuolo… tomorrow will be a tough game against a good side – but our aim is the same: to win it.”

Given Pedro is suspended, tomorrow could we see Edin Dzeko and Borja Mayoral play together for the first time?

“We will see tomorrow.”

On Thursday CSKA Sofia were mostly dangerous as a result of Roma mistakes: how much is that a concern for you heading into this game?

“No, they are two completely different games. In Sofia we changed a lot of players. The target was to finish top of the group and we had done that. I don’t like to lose, and I’m never satisfied when we win either, but they are two separate matches and one won’t have an impact on the other.”

Do you think Pau Lopez is in better shape now than he was at the start of the season?

“Pau Lopez has always trained well and he’s played really well in the Europa League this season. He’s been pushing hard and tomorrow he will start the game.”

Have the new ownership asked you to qualify for the Champions League this season, or is this season more of a launchpad – one without expectations?

“The president does not have to ask for anything, as I’ve said myself we need to do better than we did last season. Last season we finished fifth, so doing better means we finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League.

"We have to be the ones that create our targets. We know that we want to do better than last season and we know there are another seven or eight sides that want the same thing – but we want to make sure we are the ones that do better than last season.”

What, or how much, do Roma lack in order to compete with Juventus and Inter?

“Time. It’s clear for all to see that Inter and Juventus have spent much more compared to other sides. But we want to work hard to close the gap to them. We’ve changed ownership and the side has changed too – it’s completely different to the one that greeted me on my first day here. We need time to get stronger, to compete with those sides that have made big investments.”

What did you make of the penalty given to Sassuolo yesterday? How can such different decisions be made within the space of a week?

“You know that I don’t like to make excuses. I will say again what I said after last week’s game: the incidents speak for themselves. I don’t have any doubt about it. I have the same opinion now that I did after the game: the same situations seem to be treated in a completely different way and I don’t think the referee last night got it wrong.”

Will Gianluca Mancini be back for the game against Torino on Thursday?

“We will see, he’s doing well. Let’s see how things go next week. But I am confident he will be back and available very soon.”

Bologna are a physical side – are you thinking about using Bryan Cristante again as the player who starts the attacking moves in this game?

“Cristante has been playing really well in that position, he’s becoming a really good central defender for me – and he’s especially good on the ball too. We’ll see tomorrow where he plays. But he will definitely start. I want to stress though that I’m really pleased with his efforts as a centre-back.”

How is Edin Dzeko doing?

“He’s much better, he’s getting back to full fitness. He was out for a while too – and then we needed to throw him straight back in, when he wasn’t in the best shape. But now he’s a lot better and you can see that in training.”

What sort of opponent will Bologna be? What sort of game are you expecting?

“They are having a good season. Bologna are a good side, physical as you said: they have some good attackers, who attack the spaces quickly and know how to press you. We need to play a perfect game in order to win against a side like Bologna, who are in good form right now.”