Midfielder Bryan Cristante will be handed the captain’s armband in Roma’s Serie A clash against Juventus on Saturday, after Edin Dzeko was stripped of the honour.
Bosnia international Dzeko has been reintegrated into the squad at the Stadio Olimpico after a bitter dispute with coach Paulo Fonseca last month, but as part of the mediation process lost the captaincy at the club.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the visit of the champions, Fonseca confirmed that Lorenzo Pellegrini would take up the mantle, although with the Italian international suspended against Juventus the honour would go to Cristante.
“I cannot confirm if Dzeko will start, but he trained well,” Fonseca claimed. “Cristante will be the captain tomorrow though.”
Having enjoyed a comfortable 3-1 victory over Hellas Verona in Dzeko’s absence last weekend, Roma are looking for victory over Juventus to bolster their own Scudetto hopes. The Giallorossi sit just six points behind leaders AC Milan in third place with just over half the season gone.
