Roma will host Slavia Prague in the Europa League with both teams on six points in Group G. Both teams have won their opening two games. They put Servette and Sheriff Tiraspol in their wake and positioned them to go to the knockout stage.
Preview (Roma vs. Slavia Prague)
Since Jose Mourinho walked through the door at Roma’s Trigoria training facility, the capital city team has continued to generate results in UEFA competition, even if they have rarely looked set to finish outside of Serie A’s top four. Roma, runners-up in the Europa League the previous season and winners of the Europa Conference League in its infancy, have opened the continental campaign this year with back-to-back victories, scoring six goals in the process. The Giallorossi defeated Servette 4-0 last time out, thanks to goals from star striker Romelu Lukaku and captain Lorenzo Pellegrini that offset an Andrea Belotti brace. Since then, the team has won all four of their Europa League group-stage matches dating back to last autumn.
Mourinho’s team has used recent success in Europe as a springboard for success in Serie A. After a terrible start, they have already won three league games in a row. They now face a doubleheader with Group G co-leaders Slavia Prague. As a result, Roma moved up to seventh position. The Giallorossi now host at Stadio Olimpico once more before hosting top-four rivals Inter Milan. Here, they have the most home-clean sheets of any Serie A team in 2023 (10).
After reaching the European quarterfinals in three of the previous five years, a third consecutive win will undoubtedly put them within striking distance of the elimination stage once more. As such, coach Jindrich Trpisovsky will be eager to maintain momentum by at least avoiding defeat in Italy’s “Eternal City.” The Cervenobili, who have won nine games and drawn three this season, most recently defeated Slovacko in the Czech First League. In fact, Trpisovsky’s team’s archrivals Sparta Prague, who now lead the table by two points, dealt them their most recent home loss back in May.
Team News
Renato Sanches is back in training and should be back on the field after missing many weeks due to injury. Roma will be without Paulo Dybala and Lorenzo Pellegrini on Thursday. Along with Tammy Abraham and Marash Kumbulla, they have been out for a while. Sardar Azmoun and Evan Ndicka were both forced to miss Sunday’s match against Monza. Chris Smalling, the English defender who had been sidelined for a month due to tendinitis. He could be available for selection on the bench by Jose Mourinho.
Romelu Lukaku, a forward, has scored seven goals in nine games since coming to the Giallorossi on loan in August. In addition, he has twenty-two goals from thirty-five prior Europa League games. In preparation for his 200th league game, Slavia Prague manager Jindrich Trpisovsky named a significantly altered starting lineup over the weekend. This time, he is expected to choose his best team for the match at Stadio Olimpico. Following a muscular ailment, Slovakian international Jakub Hromada returned to the midfield on Saturday, while both Peter Sevcik and Sheriff Sinyan are back in the running. Nigerian defender Igoh Ogbu has resumed full training.
Romanian wing-back Andrei Dumitrescu begins on the left flank, although Ivan Schranz and Mojmir Chytil should be paired together in attack. Since joining Slavia last month, Dumitrescu has participated in four games. They are all of which have ended in victories with no goals conceded. Encouraged by the Olimpico supporters, and with increased depth in their squad. The Italian team ought to possess too much skill in the closing third to manage Slavia.
Roma 2 – 1 Slavia Prague
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