Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to return to winning ways in the Europa League when they host AS Roma on Thursday.
A struggling AS Roma outfit who have only won one Europa League fixture this season are all set to hit the road to face Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur, who have been on a roll of late after a slow start to the new campaign.
The home team are seventh on the Europa League points table with nine points thanks to three wins and a defeat. They suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Galatasaray in their last European outing and even lost to Ipswich Town in the league before the international break.
Spurs have made a sensational comeback post the break as they smashed Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City 4-0 away from home. They took their chances and secured all three points on the night. Postecoglou’s team will be high on confidence heading into this fixture.
AS Roma are 20th on the Europa League table with just five points so far. The Giallorossi have one win, two draws and a defeat to their name. They dropped points in their last European outing against Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.
The visitors have lost their last two outings in the Serie A. They suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Bologna prior to the break and ended up losing 1-0 to Napoli when the action resumed in Italy. Roma have struggled across competitions and they will find it difficult to go up against a Tottenham team that has been playing some impressive football of late. The Hard Tackle takes a close look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could put to use.
Team News & Tactics
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur have received a massive blow as Guglielmo Vicario fractured his right ankle in the game against Manchester City. He has undergone surgery and is all set to be out for a while.
Apart from their shot-stopper, Spurs will be without the services of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven. Wilson Odobert and Richarlison are also unlikely to be available for this one. Meanwhile, Will Lankshear is suspended following the red card in their last European fixture, and Mikey Moore is down with a virus.
Ange Postecoglou will go ahead with the 4-3-3 formation, where Fraser Forster will feature in goal. Djed Spence and Archie Gray should be the full-backs with Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies featuring in the heart of the defence.
Rodrigo Bentancur, who is serving a seven-match domestic ban, will start here to maintain match fitness. He will be accompanied by Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall in the centre of the park. Brennan Johnson and Timo Werner will feature out wide on the flanks, while Dominic Solanke will be leading the line for them.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Forster; Spence, Dragusin, Davies, Gray; Sarr, Bentancur, Bergvall; Johnson, Solanke, Werner
AS Roma
After suffering a defeat in his first league outing, Claudio Ranieri will be hoping his team put up a much better fight against Tottenham in this away fixture. Eldor Shomurodov remains on the sidelines, while Alexis Saelemaekers and Mario Hermoso are closing in on a return.
Paulo Dybala was not 100% and that is why he started on the bench in their last outing. But, he is expected to be in the starting XI for this one. Claudio Ranieri will stick to the 4-4-2 formation that he used in their last outing. But there could be quite a few changes to the XI.
Mile Svilar is expected to keep his place in goal. Zeki Celik and Angelino will most likely be the two full-backs, while Gianluca Mancini and Mats Hummels will feature in the heart of the defence.
Matias Soule and Nicola Zalewski will feature out wide on the flanks. They will not only support the full-backs but also look to provide width to their attacks. Tommaso Baldanzi will partner Bryan Cristante in a more central role. They will look to ensure Tottenham do not end up dictating the pace of the game. Dybala will start up top alongside summer signing Artem Dovbyk.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Hummels, Angelino; Soule, Baldanzi, Cristante, Zalewski; Dybala, Dovbyk
Key Stats
Tottenham and AS Roma have never faced each other in a major European competition.
Spurs have only lost one out of their last 10 home games against an Italian opposition.
Tottenham’s last defeat against an Italian outfit at home came in March 2018 when they hosted Juventus and lost 2-1.
AS Roma have only won one out of their last 23 away games against a team from England. Their last win came back in 2001 when they got the better of Liverpool.
The North London club have won their last seven home games in the Europa League without conceding a goal.
Player to Watch
Timo Werner
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Werner has three goal contributions in just over 500 minutes of first-team action spread across his 14 appearances. While he has only started a handful of games this season, the German international has not been at his best. This game against AS Roma could be an opportunity for him to put on a great performance and push Ange Postecoglou to hand him more game time. He will be eager to make an impact and is the one to watch out for.
Prediction
Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 AS Roma
AS Roma have just undergone a major change as Claudio Ranieri has taken charge as the new boss, and it will take time for him to get his ideas across to the players. The visitors have been inconsistent throughout they could struggle against a Tottenham side that will be high on confidence following an emphatic win over Manchester City. The Hard Tackle presents a 2-0 win for the home team.