Fonseca: Everyone needs to remain focused on the league

Sunday's game at the Sardegna Arena gets underway at 18:00 CEST.

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

Will Chris Smalling, Leonardo Spinazzola, Marash Kumbulla and Stephan El Shaarawy all be in the squad tomorrow? How are they doing?

“They are doing well, they have all trained with the rest of the group over the last couple of days. All of them will be in the squad. Let’s see if one of them starts, but it’s something that we will have to look at very carefully. But I am pleased to have them with us tomorrow.”

Roma have struggled to pick up points after Europa League games this season – is that one of the reasons why you aren’t in the top four now?

“Yes, I have to admit that it is hard to manage things with so many games in such quick succession – especially when not all the players are available. It would be easier if we had everyone available. Playing every three days at the start of the campaign is one thing, but playing every three days now – when there is often more resting on each game and we’ve already played a lot of them – is another thing entirely.

"But I don’t think that’s just an issue we are facing. You can see that in the other Europa League semi-finalists. Villarreal have lost two of their last three games. And Arsenal are down the table in the Premier League."

Gonzalo Villar doesn’t seem to be progressing as he has been – what’s happened? Is he tired?

“He’s not tired. It’s always hard to maintain the same level of performance throughout a season. Gonzalo started the campaign really well, then he had a bit of a dip, but I think he’s improving again.”

In an interview today Vincenzo Montella said that when you don’t have great players you need to have a clear tactical idea. Does this Roma side have a clear tactical idea?

“Yes, we have an identity and an approach. I think these things are always quite hard to define. Every team is dealing with a different situation.”

Could Javier Pastore and Juan Jesus both play on Sunday?

“We’ll have to see tomorrow.”

Against Atalanta you played with four at the back and had Bryan Cristante pushing into midfield. Is that an option you are also considering in the game against Manchester United?

“It was an approach for that game against Atalanta. Now we are focusing on Cagliari, and then after that I will start to think about Manchester United.”

How many changes are you thinking of making to your side tomorrow?

“A few.”

How will you ensure the players stay focused on this game, with such an important one awaiting on Thursday?

“Cagliari are in good form. Against Atalanta we showed we want to keep fighting until the very end – that game is an example of how we want to keep playing in the league. So tomorrow we will be playing to win.”

Without so many injuries, could this side have been fighting a bit harder on both fronts?

“I don’t want to find excuses, but in certain crucial moments of the season we were without key players. If we had been able to call upon them, we could have perhaps done more.”

Cagliari are fighting for survival and will be very determined tomorrow...

“They are in good form, they have got some good results in the last few games. It will be a key game for them, but we need to be fired up for the game as well. We need to keep our focus on Serie A.”

How is the squad doing from a fitness perspective?

“The team is doing well physically, as we saw from the game against Atalanta. And now, with a few more players back, things should be even better.”