Sports Mole previews Thursday’s Europa League clash between Roma and Viktoria Plzen, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Returning to their latest Europa League campaign, Roma will welcome Viktoria Plzen to Stadio Olimpico on Thursday evening.
While the Italian side lost to Lille in extraordinary circumstances on matchday two, their Czech counterparts posted an emphatic first win.
Match preview
Regular fixtures in UEFA’s second-tier tournament, Roma had almost seen and done it all in the Europa League, but they still managed to break new ground when hosting Lille earlier this month.
After trailing from the sixth minute, the Giallorossi seemed set to steal at a point when they were awarded a late penalty; but, despite being offered two re-takes, Lille goalkeeper Berke Ozer then made history by saving three consecutive spot-kicks.
Misfiring striker Artem Dovbyk and this term’s star man Matias Soule were the culprits, as Roma walked away empty-handed from their second straight game against French opponents.
Previously, the Serie A side had edged out Nice in southern France, so they have three points on the board thus far.
Since losing to Lille, Gian Piero Gasperini‘s men have beaten Fiorentina and lost to Inter Milan, either side of the international break – last week’s home defeat to Inter saw them slip to fifth place in the standings.
Still, they have conceded just three league goals so far, as Gasperini continues to build on the legacy left by former boss Claudio Ranieri.
The 2024 Europa League winner will now aim to take maximum points on Thursday, which would see Roma set a new record by posting 99 wins in the competition.
One of the Giallorossi’s 98 successes to date was a 4-1 home victory over Viktoria Plzen in November 2016, and the Czech side were also beaten 5-0 in the Champions League two years later.
This time, they head to Italy with a one-point lead over their illustrious hosts, having made an unbeaten start to the league phase.
Their opening 1-1 draw with Ferencvaros was followed by an impressive 3-0 win over outgoing Swedish champions Malmo, who have since been succeeded by miracle club Mjallby as Allsvenskan‘s top dogs.
Both sides were reduced to 10 men before Malmo had a second player sent off during second-half stoppage time, as Plzen’s Rafiu Durosinmi recorded his sixth goal involvement in five Europa League starts.
Having dropped out of Champions League qualifying before making a sub-par start on the domestic front, Viktoria’s new board recently sacked Miroslav Koubek and hired Martin Hysky, most renowned for his work with Slavia Prague’s youth teams.
Since the latter’s arrival, Viktoria have played out a dramatic 3-3 Czech Liga draw against Hradec Kralove and then a 1-0 victory over Bohemians, with danger man Durosinmi finding the net on both occasions.
Roma Europa League form:
W L
Roma form (all competitions):
W W W L W L
Viktoria Plzen Europa League form:
D W
Viktoria Plzen form (all competitions):
L D L W D W
Team News
Roma boss Gasperini seems to have lost faith with his centre-forwards, instead fielding Paulo Dybala as a false nine last weekend.
Evan Ferguson’s last goal at club level came one year ago – though he has scored three in the Republic of Ireland’s last four games – while Dovbyk has only scored once in Serie A and missed a crucial penalty against Lille.
It remains to be seen how ‘Gasp’ will go, but the hosts’ attack could be bolstered by a first start for loan signing Leon Bailey.
The Jamaica international last started a club game back in March, having been hampered by injuries, but he is now fully fit and made a lively cameo appearance against Inter.
While Spanish wing-back Angelino is the home side’s sole doubt, due to bronchitis, Viktoria Plzen will certainly be without Iraqi defender Merchas Doski, who must serve a suspension for seeing red last time out.
Jan Kopic and Jiri Panos are also set to miss Thursday’s game, in which either Prince Kwabena Adu or Durosinmi should lead the visitors’ attack.
Amar Memic and veteran forward Matej Vydra – who opened the scoring against Malmo – are likely to provide the lone striker with support.
Roma possible starting lineup:
Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Ndicka; Rensch, Cristante, El Aynaoui, Tsimikas; Bailey, Baldanzi; Dovbyk
Viktoria Plzen possible starting lineup:
Jedlicka; Jemelka, Dweh, Spacil; Valenta, Souare, Cerv, Havel; Memic, Vydra; Durosinmi
We say: Roma 1-0 Viktoria Plzen
History heavily suggests a home win: Roma have not lost back-to-back European games at the Olimpico since 2014, while they have never done so in the Europa League.
By contrast, Plzen have won just two and lost more than half of their last 20 away matches in this competition, and that trend may continue on Thursday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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