Brighton vs Roma: Confirmed pre-season friendly line-ups
Quick summary
Brighton and Roma have confirmed their starting XIs for their pre-season friendly match.
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Attributed to original sourceGian Piero Gasperini has named a strong Roma line-up featuring all of Matias Soule, Paulo Dybala and Donyell Malen for Saturday afternoon’s pre-season friendly away against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium.
Football Italia is among the accredited media for Saturday’s friendly between Brighton and Roma.
This is the first meeting of the sides since their two-legged encounter in the Europa League back in 2024: Roma won that tie 4-1 on aggregate thanks to a 4-0 victory at home at the Stadio Olimpico in the first leg.
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – MARCH 14: Sardar Azmoun of AS Roma scores an overhead kick goal that is later disallowed during the UEFA Europa League 2023/24 round of 16 second leg match between Brighton & Hove Albion and AS Roma at the Brighton & Hove Albion Stadium on March 14, 2024 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) Today’s game is Roma’s penultimate pre-season test and the final one in their mini-tour of the UK. The Giallorossi were beaten 4-1 in South Wales by Cardiff City last weekend, but bounced back with a 4-1 victory against Newport County on Tuesday.
Malen spearheads the attack on Saturday afternoon, supported by Dybala and Soule in the trequartista roles.
TURIN, ITALY – JANUARY 18: Paulo Dybala celebrates a goal during the Serie A match against Torino FC at Stadio Olimpico di Torino on January 18, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images) Neil El Aynaoui starts alongside Bryan Cristante in midfield with Wesley and Devyne Rensch at wing-back. Gasperini’s back three is made up of Gianluca Mancini, Evan Ndicka and Mario Hermoso.
Summer signings Santiago Castro and Konstantinos Koulierakis are named among the substitutes.
Kick-off is due at 15.00 BST.
Brighton vs. Roma: Confirmed line-ups Brighton (4-3-3): Verbruggen; Wieffer, Simmonds, Boscagli, Kadioglu; Ayari, Hinshelwood, Gross; Minteh, Kostoulas, Gomez. All.: Fabian Hurzeler.
Subs: McGill, Dunk, Osman, Cashin, Kostoulas, Costinha, Cozier-Duberry, De Cuyper, Yalcouye, Yohanna, Middleton.
Roma (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Mancini, Ndicka, Hermoso; Rensch, El Aynaoui, Cristante, Wesley; Dybala, Soulé; Malen. All.: Gian Piero Gasperini.
Subs: Gollini, Di Marzi, Ghilardi, Ziolkowski, Koulierakis, Nardin, Reale, Mannini, Lulli Panico, Cherubini, Vaz, Castro.
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What happened
Both Brighton and Roma have released their confirmed line-ups ahead of their pre-season friendly fixture. The match serves as part of pre-season preparation for both clubs ahead of their respective domestic campaigns. The line-ups give an early indication of the tactical setups and player availability for both managers heading into the new season. Pre-season friendlies typically allow managers to test squad players and tactical systems in a competitive but low-stakes environment.
Chance analysis
Pre-season friendly line-ups have limited predictive value for competitive matches but offer early signals about squad fitness, tactical preferences, and new signings' integration. For Roma, this is an opportunity to assess their squad ahead of the Serie A campaign, while Brighton can evaluate their Premier League readiness. The line-ups may hint at which players are in the managers' plans and which tactical systems will be employed going into the season.
Minimal direct impact on competitive predictions; primarily a signal of squad readiness and tactical intent for the upcoming season.
Pre-season line-ups should not materially affect competitive match predictions but can signal early-season fitness and tactical direction.