After emerging through a tense playoff to reach the Europa League‘s last 16, Roma will host Athletic Bilbao on Thursday, as the pair play out the opening leg of an enticing tie.
The second meeting between the Italian club and their Basque counterparts comes just five months after the first, when they settled for a 1-1 draw in the league phase.
Match preview
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Amid managerial turmoil and early-season struggles, Roma were held to a draw by Athletic Club in late September, as they kicked off their Europa League campaign at Stadio Olimpico.
Artem Dovbyk opened the scoring before half time, but Athletic bit back in the closing stages, setting the tone for a difficult league phase.
After club hero Claudio Ranieri returned to steady the ship, Roma ultimately produced an impressive 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on the final matchday, avoiding an early exit and booking their playoff place.
Following a stalemate in the away leg, Ranieri’s men then beat Porto 3-2 in an eventful return game lit up by Paulo Dybala‘s brilliant brace.
Having subsequently avoided city rivals Lazio in the last-16 draw, they could now set up a quarter-final clash with either Rangers or a Fenerbahce side led by their former coach Jose Mourinho.
Still unbeaten in Serie A this year, the Giallorossi overcame Como on Sunday evening, with Dovbyk netting the decisive strike in a 2-1 victory and making it 11 league games without defeat.
Seven wins and two draws since the start of January have taken them back into the mix for European qualification – albeit they still trail sixth-placed Bologna by four points.
So, before interim boss Ranieri hands over to a new manager at the end of the season, there is certainly much to play for.
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Though they lost 1-0 to La Liga title hopefuls Atletico Madrid last weekend, Athletic are also enjoying an excellent run of form, recently beating Girona 3-0 and thumping seven past Real Valladolid.
Fourth in the table, four points clear of fifth-placed Villarreal, they are on track to qualify for next term’s Champions League – yet, they could also gain entry by claiming Europa League glory.
The Basque side are intent on going all the way this year, as the final will take place on home turf at San Mames, and they successfully completed the first part of that mission by finishing second in the inaugural league phase.
Star man Nico Williams – who struck the woodwork twice in Saturday’s loss to Atleti – was on target in a final matchday win over Viktoria Plzen, as Ernesto Valverde‘s men ended up level on points with Lazio and one ahead of Manchester United.
Athletic may have won six of their last seven Europa League games, but before travelling to Rome, the Bilbao club have a miserable recent record in the latter stages.
Having lost four of five their last five knockout contests, they will be keen to avoid another defeat on Thursday, keeping themselves in good shape for next week’s return.
Team News
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After Roma’s top scorer Artem Dovbyk celebrated his return from injury by scoring as a substitute, the Ukrainian striker could now replace Eldor Shomurodov in the hosts’ starting lineup.
It remains to be seen whether he is paired with Paulo Dybala; if the latter is rested by Claudio Ranieri, younger men such as Matias Soule, Nicolo Pisilli and Tommaso Baldanzi will battle it out for places behind the lone frontman.
While Baldanzi is one of five players at risk of being suspended for the second leg – including Dybala – Leandro Paredes has already passed the threshold for bookings and must serve a one-match ban. Bryan Cristante should therefore start in midfield.
Meanwhile, Athletic Club’s Oihan Sancet passed a fitness test and will travel to Italy, but Alvaro Djalo is still sidelined by an ankle problem.
Once again, Inaki Williams is set to start alongside younger brother Nico Williams in the visitors’ attack, with Gorka Guruzeta and Maroan Sannadi vying to join them.
Among players to complete at least 500 minutes in this season’s Europa League, Williams junior has made the most dribbles per 90 minutes (9.6) – the highest rate of anyone since the 2019-20 campaign.
Roma possible starting lineup:
Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Ndicka; Saelemaekers, Kone, Cristante, Angelino; Dybala, Pellegrini; Dovbyk
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; De Marcos, Vivian, Paredes, Yuri; Jauregizar, Vesga; I. Williams, Gomez, N. Williams; Sannadi
We say: Roma 1-1 Athletic Bilbao
Conference League winners three years ago, before reaching a Europa League final and semi-final, Roma have lost only two of their last 38 home matches in Europe.
Putting 27 wins on the board in that spell, the in-form Giallorossi should start favourites – but Athletic are also a force to be reckoned with and will surely score at least once.
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