Fonseca sees end to defensive selection issues

The game at the Artemio Franchi gets underway at 20:45 CET.

Here's what Paulo Fonseca had to say...

The defence will be under scrutiny as well on Wednesday. You have the 13th best defence in Serie A this season. Will Chris Smalling and Marash Kumbulla be ready to return as starters?

“It’s true, that is what the statistics say. The team has struggled a bit more than we expected. But I think we need to be clear on something, on how the side is set out. Look at the last match. How many times did Milan create dangerous opportunities based on how they were organised in attack? Not many, in my opinion. We’ve always been well-organised. We haven’t given up many chances based on their attacking moves.

“That’s where the issue arises. We create our own problems. We make too many mistakes, and that’s happened in other games as well. Giving the ball away, for example. It’s not an issue of organisation, it’s a problem of decision-making, choices, moments. And yes, it’s true that we are sometimes going to make those mistakes because that’s the way we play. But we want to play that way.

"We have to understand whether or not the team is capable of playing that way or not. Against Milan we could have done – but we made mistakes because we made mistakes. It’s also an attacking problem. We are working hard to improve on that as well.

"As for your other questions: Kumbulla is ready to play and he will start tomorrow. Smalling will be in the squad, but I don’t think he is in the best shape to play 90 minutes.”

Tomorrow’s game will be your third in six days. Usually in these situations you have rotated your players – will that include Borja Mayoral?

“No, Borja will start tomorrow. It’s true that we have had a lot of games and we have tried to rotate the players with the Europa League. Obviously with the issues in defence it has been harder to give rests to Karsdorp, Spinazzola, Cristante and Mancini. But those players are starting to return now. So tomorrow I think I will make two or three changes.”

Who will play in goal?

“Pau Lopez.”

When Roma face better sides it seems Borja Mayoral struggles to make an impression. What do you think that is down to?

“We can’t forget that Italian football is tough on attacking players. For all strikers. We shouldn’t forget that the boy has not been here long and is still learning. Nevertheless, he’s already scored a fair few goals. The problem is that when you score, you are doing great – but when you don’t you must be terrible. That happens for Dzeko too. That’s the issue when you are the striker on your own, but you can’t judge just like that.”

Could moving to a 3-5-2 system be a way of shoring things up defensively?

“We did use the 3-5-2 when we were defending against Milan at the weekend. I think that was pretty obvious. The problem is we lost the ball and made mistakes we shouldn’t be making, which gave the opposition an advantage. That was the issue. But, as I say, in terms of our defensive organisation we always looked pretty balanced.”

In Sunday’s game you scored after building play from the back. But you conceded the second goal after Pau Lopez gave the ball away. Does involving the goalkeeper in the build-up have more advantages than disadvantages?

“In my opinion it’s important to involve the goalkeeper in the build-up, as I’ve said before. The difference is knowing when we can play and when we shouldn’t. When the opposition are pressing, then we can’t take risks. In the case of the Milan goal, we were not under pressure. It was a mistake, a misplaced pass, and we are working to improve.

"We made more mistakes than we should have, but the team is one that creates a lot of openings by playing out from the back.”

The team has had fewer goals from substitutes this season than other sides – can you explain why?

“Those are numbers. I can’t make my assessments in those terms. I don’t have the numbers, but I reckon in 90% of cases when we’ve brought players on we’ve already been in a winning position. And so if they haven’t scored, it’s because we’ve already done it.

"It’s true, those are the statistics. But I can’t focus on that too much as a coach. I have to consider other things too. In some games, perhaps I make changes to help shore the side up defensively rather than to try and score another goal.”

Why do Roma always try to play the same way against the big sides? Sometimes, wouldn’t it be better to throw a few surprises?

“I don’t agree with that observation – and I’ll explain why. If we look in Italy, there are seven teams that want to qualify for the Champions League next season. Inter always play the same way, Milan always play the same way, Atalanta always play in the same way, Napoli and Juventus all play in the same way. Do they change their identity? They don’t.

“What changes is the strategy for each game. For example, we are a side that press high up the pitch, generally speaking. Against Milan did we press them high up the pitch? No. For a reason. But our overall identity doesn’t change. Especially against the big sides. It doesn’t change based on the results. The best sides are the ones that have a strong identity.

“Plus, right now there is not much time for us to work on anything in training. There is only time to try and recover.”

How do the players look to you in the wake of Sunday?

“The team have always responded well to defeats. The boys have never let their heads drop. That's always been a positive thing for me. In fact, they’ve usually understand what they need to do to improve and get better. They are ready to fight tomorrow. At the end we can win, draw or lose.”

How have Fiorentina changed under Cesare Prandelli?

“Obviously Prandelli and Iachini are two very different coaches. Two great coaches. Fiorentina are a very good side with some great players. They won away to Juventus, so they are capable of anything.

"They might not have been consistent at times this season, but I am under no illusions about how tough a game it will be for us tomorrow. As I said, though, from what I can see the team are ready to fight and try and take the three points.”