Roma enter the international break at the summit, unbeaten after taking four wins from their opening five Serie A matches. The draw with Inter at the Olimpico, where the Giallorossi were pulled back after taking the lead, did not alter the wider impression: Gian Piero Gasperini’s side have begun the season with the authority to stand alongside the division’s leading clubs.
There has already been a first European evening in Istanbul against Fenerbahçe, before the remaining League Phase fixtures arrive. Now comes an unusually long halt for international football, followed by a month in which Roma’s early momentum will be tested by the weight of the calendar.
The coach and the club
The national-team break runs from 21 September to 6 October, after UEFA combined the traditional September and October windows into one longer pause. Serie A resumes on 10 October, while Roma return a day later away to Cesc Fabregas’ Como at the Sinigaglia.
The interval gives Gasperini time to assess players carrying physical problems, including Malen and Wesley, and to prepare his squad for a sequence that leaves little space for recovery. Between 11 October and 7 November, Roma are due to play nine times in 28 days across Serie A and the Champions League, before another international interruption over the weekend of 15 November.
It is a stretch that will demand management as much as momentum. The league leaders face major domestic assignments, four European fixtures in a short period and several reunions with figures who remain part of Roma’s recent story.
October brings familiar faces to the Olimpico
Roma begin the demanding run at Como on Sunday 11 October at 12:30. Three days later, on Wednesday 14 October, Real Madrid visit the Olimpico for the second round of the Champions League League Phase.
The occasion carries an added significance with José Mourinho returning to the capital. During his time in charge, Roma won the Conference League and reached the Europa League final, where they were narrowly denied against Sevilla in a final that remains heavily disputed by the club and its supporters.
Another former Roma figure follows immediately. Genoa, coached by Daniele De Rossi, arrive at the Olimpico on Saturday 17 October at 20:45. De Rossi has already experienced Rome as an opposing coach in his second career on the bench, but the meeting retains a particular meaning for a club legend and the supporters who watched his long playing career in Giallorosso colours.
A crowded run from Bratislava to Manchester
Roma host Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League on Tuesday 20 October at 21:00. On paper, the Slovak side represent the most manageable opponent in Roma’s League Phase schedule, though the fixture sits in the middle of a difficult three-game passage. It may offer Gasperini scope to rotate before one of the season’s more demanding league trips.
That trip is to Napoli, with Roma due at the Maradona on Saturday 24 October at 18:00. Three days later, the first midweek Serie A round of the season brings Cagliari to the Olimpico for the ninth matchday, scheduled for Tuesday 27 October at 20:45. October ends with an away match at Udinese on Saturday 31 October, kicking off at 18:00.
| Date | Competition | Fixture |
|---|---|---|
| 11 October, 12:30 | Serie A | Como v Roma |
| 14 October | Champions League | Roma v Real Madrid |
| 17 October, 20:45 | Serie A | Roma v Genoa |
| 20 October, 21:00 | Champions League | Roma v Slovan Bratislava |
| 24 October, 18:00 | Serie A | Napoli v Roma |
| 27 October, 20:45 | Serie A | Roma v Cagliari |
| 31 October, 18:00 | Serie A | Udinese v Roma |
| 3 November, 21:00 | Champions League | Manchester United v Roma |
| 7 November, 20:45 | Serie A | Roma v Sassuolo |
November opens with perhaps the most evocative European away match on Roma’s programme: Manchester United at Old Trafford on Tuesday 3 November, with kick-off at 21:00. The first pre-break cycle concludes four days later, when Sassuolo visit the Olimpico for Serie A matchday 11.
The season resumes with Paris in view
After the next national-team weekend, Roma return to league action at Parma on Saturday 21 November at 18:00. They then travel to Paris Saint-Germain for their fifth League Phase fixture, set for Wednesday 25 November at 21:00 at the Parc des Princes.
League matches against Monza at home and Bologna away follow on dates still to be confirmed. Roma then meet Sporting in Europe on Tuesday 8 December at 21:00.
For now, the table offers Roma encouragement and the break offers a necessary breath. What follows will reveal whether their opening position can endure a calendar built to test the squad, the coach and the club’s ambitions all at once.
