Overview
Nearly 18 years have passed since Roma last raised the Coppa Italia, and the capital club has also never reached the quarter-finals since 2017.
Although only AC Milan and Juventus participated in the semi-finals more, Giallorossi has disappointed in recent seasons in the domestic cup arena, even though they have reached the UEFA final twice.
Last season, Roma stopped in the quarter-finals against Milan. But under Gian Piero Gasperini - the coach who once won the Europa League - they are aiming for a longer journey, especially when they are directly into the round of 16.
Roma entered this match after having their first two consecutive victories in Serie A since November, both with a score of 2-0 against Lecce and Sassuolo.
In the most recent match, Matias Soule assisted Manu Kone to open the score with a final header, before scoring himself just minutes later. That series of results helped Roma temporarily rise to third place in the Serie A standings, despite playing more than some competitors.
With one more clean sheet, Roma still nurtures hopes of returning to the Champions League after a long wait, and at the same time continues to pursue title targets in the Europa League and Coppa Italia.
In the opposite direction, Torino traveled to Olimpico with intact memories of a sweet night here. In September, Giovanni Simeone's goal in the second half helped Torino create one of Roma's rare home defeats. However, since then, stability has become extravagant for Marco Baroni's team, as they are stuck in the mid-table area and have just experienced two consecutive defeats in Serie A.
Just a few days after losing 1-2 to Udinese, Torino continued to succumb 0-2 to Atalanta last weekend. They conceded early from a set-piece situation at Bergamo, Simeone missed the best opportunity to equalize, before being counter-attacked in the final minutes.
A total of 32 goals conceded after 20 Serie A matches exposed worrying defensive problems under Baroni. This is a period of many ups and downs despite starting with a victory in the cup arena in August.
After being eliminated early by Empoli last season, the 5-time Coppa Italy champion team has returned this season by passing the first rounds. They beat Modena 1-0, then continued to defeat Pisa 1-0 to win a ticket to the next round.
Now, Torino officially enters the key stage of the Coppa Italy campaign, starting with the first match in two encounters with Roma in just 5 days.
Personnel situation
Both coaches are likely to rotate their forces in the cup match, before replaying at Torino's stadium.
On Roma's side, Gian Piero Gasperini may recall Bryan Cristante after this midfielder's one-match suspension expires on the weekend. However, the Olimpico team still faces many shortcomings.
Artem Dovbyk, Leon Bailey and Lorenzo Pellegrini are injured. Moroccan star Neil El Aynaoui attends AFCON, while Ivory Coast center-back Evan Ndicka is likely not yet on the registered list.
In attack, Evan Ferguson having to leave the field due to injury in the match against Sassuolo makes Roma's starting plan uncertain.
Torino is also in a similar situation when the attacking problem is not clear. After being all on the bench last weekend, Giovanni Simeone, Alieu Njie and Che Adams will compete for a starting spot, aiming to replace Duvan Zapata and Cyril Ngonge - two players who started in the defeat at Bergamo.
In terms of force, Marco Baroni does not have Ivan Ilic, Marcus Pedersen and Perr Schuurs due to injury. Adam Masina is still on international duty with the Moroccan national team. In the opposite direction, Cesare Casadei - who scored the decisive goal to help Torino overcome Pisa in the second round - is ready to return after suspension.
Expected lineup:
Svilar, Mancini, Ziolkowski, Ghilardi, Rensch, Cristante, Pisilli, Tsimikas, Soule, El Shaarawy, Dybala.
Israel, Tameze, Maripan, Coco, Aboukhlal, Anjorin, Ilkhan, Vlasic, Biraghi, Njie, Simeone.
The match between Roma and Torino takes place at 3:00 AM on January 14 (Vietnam time).
