Roma Face Udinese With Matías Soulé Ready for a Bigger Role

A favorable fixture with a familiar risk

Roma’s trip to Udine looks like a chance to collect three points and maintain pressure on Inter and Lazio. Udinese have taken just five points from nine league matches and remain in the relegation zone. A midweek draw with Parma ended their run of defeats, but they haven’t won in Serie A since August.

Those results make the fixture attractive on paper, but the table tells only part of the story. Udinese’s recent draw gives them a point to build on, and a team struggling for wins can still make a match awkward by defending with discipline and waiting for the opponent to lose focus. Roma will have to turn their advantage in quality into pressure that lasts across the match.

That’s especially relevant after Roma’s 4-2 win over Cagliari. The result showed what Gasperini’s side can do when its attack plays with energy and confidence, but conceding twice also leaves room for a more cautious reading. A high-scoring win can lift a team’s belief; it doesn’t erase the need to manage the game once the opposition finds a way back in.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s side will need the same urgency it showed against Cagliari without allowing the scoreline or Udinese’s league position to breed complacency. Roma have a habit of turning favorable matchups into tests. This is more significant than it looks: a controlled performance would show that Roma can handle a match on its own terms, rather than relying on attacking momentum to carry it through.

Short-handed before a demanding week

Gasperini is set to be without Paulo Dybala, Manu Koné, Mile Svilar and Lorenzo Pellegrini. The absences leave gaps across the lineup just as Roma prepare for a Champions League trip to Manchester next week. He’ll have to weigh the need for a strong result in Udine against the physical demands of the schedule, while deciding whether less experienced players can shoulder more responsibility.

That balancing act affects more than the starting lineup. Missing players can reduce a coach’s options during the match, particularly if the preferred plan needs to change or a starter’s workload has to be managed. Roma’s depth will be tested in a practical way: the replacements need to maintain the team’s shape and tempo, not simply fill a place on the team sheet.

There are encouraging signs. Pierluigi Gollini has performed capably while covering for Svilar, and Emanuele Lulli has made the most of his chances. Lulli has scored in each of his last two Serie A appearances. Rodrigo Mora is also working his way into Gasperini’s plans, while Niccolò Pisilli and Santiago Castro could take on larger roles against Udinese.

Those contributions give Gasperini options, though a short run of good performances doesn’t settle how each player will respond to a larger role. The step up is about more than personal confidence: it asks players to make their decisions within the team’s structure and sustain their work when the match gets difficult. If you’re watching Roma’s squad depth, that’s the point to track.

Roma have enough quality to win, but the result will depend on converting that advantage into a focused performance. The rotation options get a chance to show that their recent contributions can hold up under greater responsibility, while the established players must keep the team organized through another crowded stretch.

What Soulé can show in Udine

Can Soulé become Roma’s leading creative force?

Matías Soulé is making a case for Roma to build more of its attack around him, even when Dybala is available. After spending much of the summer viewed as a possible Financial Fair Play sacrifice, the Argentine is enjoying his strongest spell in a Roma shirt. That shift gives his progress a second dimension: he’s not only producing on the field, but changing the conversation around his place in the side.

He has three goals and three assists in 770 minutes across all competitions. The numbers matter, but they don’t explain the full change in his game. Soulé looks more decisive in possession, more willing to take on defenders and increasingly comfortable creating chances. His contributions are giving Roma another source of invention at a time when Dybala’s absences have exposed how much the attack can rely on one player to make something happen.

That’s useful for a team facing a demanding run of fixtures. Roma need more than one player who can carry the ball forward or unlock a defense; a second creative option can make the attack harder to read and reduce the burden on Dybala when he’s available. Soulé’s recent form points in that direction, though the test is whether he can keep making good choices when opponents focus their attention on him.

With Dybala and Pellegrini unavailable, Soulé should be central to Roma’s plans against Udinese. He is likely to operate behind Donyell Malen, alongside a more central Rodrigo Mora. Udinese have conceded 18 goals in nine league matches, giving Soulé opportunities to test a defense that has struggled to contain opponents. Roma will still need movement around him: a creative player can open a defense, but teammates have to offer runs and options for those openings to become chances.

The question is whether he can sustain this level across a full season. Soulé also impressed last fall before injuries disrupted his campaign and encouraged transfer speculation. This season, improved pressing, defensive work and decision-making have made him a better fit for Gasperini’s system, while his availability has allowed him to build momentum. One more strong performance would help, but consistency over time will say more than any single match. Another influential display in Udine would strengthen the case that Soulé can carry Roma’s creative burden now, with the next step being to keep producing as the schedule tightens.

Why the match matters beyond three points

Udine offers Roma a chance to pursue an immediate result while learning more about the players being asked to cover for absences. Those aims are connected: if the replacements can maintain the team’s standards, Gasperini gains useful options for the week ahead; if the performance depends too heavily on a few established players, the fixture may expose how thin the margins become when the schedule piles up.

And yet, one match can’t settle the bigger questions. Lulli’s scoring run and Soulé’s recent form are encouraging, but neither tells Roma exactly what they can expect across a full season. The evidence has to accumulate through minutes, decisions and availability. A good night in Udine. A sustained run would mean more.

For Soulé, the clearest opportunity is to turn creative responsibility into a repeatable part of Roma’s attack. If he can keep combining forward intent with the pressing and defensive work that suit Gasperini’s system, he’ll give the team a wider set of ways to create chances. Here’s the thing: Udinese’s struggles make this a favorable test, but Roma still have to pass it. That said, the match should offer a useful read on whether the club’s emerging contributors can keep the team functioning when key players are out.