With a place in the Europa League’s last 16 up for grabs, Roma will welcome Porto to Stadio Olimpico for the second leg of their knockout playoff on Thursday.
The Italian side held their Portuguese counterparts to a draw in last week’s opener but have lost all three prior ties between the clubs. This time, the winners will face either Athletic Bilbao or Roma’s arch-rivals Lazio.
Match preview
Despite taking the lead at Estadio do Dragao, Roma had to settle for a first-leg draw in Porto, following a fractious contest.
Making a rare raid into the opposition box, Zeki Celik started the scoring; however, after the hosts struck back through Francisco Moura, Roma midfielder Bryan Cristante was sent off and they then sat back.
The Giallorossi – who finished one point above their playoff rivals in the league phase – have a rich recent history in UEFA competition, as Conference League winners in 2022.
Having then reached the final and then semi-finals of Europe’s second-tier tournament in successive seasons, they only sneaked through to this year’s knockout rounds with a 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on the final matchday.
Nonetheless, a potential last-16 clash with city rivals Lazio is now possible for Claudio Ranieri’s side, who have been revived since the veteran coach came in to save a campaign that started messily, with two sackings.
Nine games unbeaten in Serie A after Sunday’s 1-0 win in Parma, the Rome-born boss has transformed their season: a total of 21 points from those nine fixtures is unmatched by any other team in Italy’s top flight.
Before resuming their latest continental quest, Roma can also reflect on past feats: the capital club have won 13 of their last 16 Europa League home matches, including all of the last three without conceding.
Narrowly avoiding an early exit, Porto also edged into the playoffs, with a nervy 1-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv on the last matchday helping them pip compatriots Braga to qualification.
New coach Martin Anselmi – who had just arrived from Mexican club Cruz Azul – steered the Dragons to success on his dugout debut, but he has otherwise struggled to turn a faltering side around.
Sitting third in the Primeira Liga standings, last week’s 1-0 victory over lowly Farense ended a run of five straight league matches without a win – the first time that had happened this century.
Anselmi’s first league maximum – sealed by Moura’s second goal in as many matches – may boost morale, but Porto are still six points adrift of leaders Sporting Lisbon and four behind Benfica.
Already out of both domestic cups, the two-time European champions are therefore placing all their hopes on Europa League success.
In one sense, history will be on their side at Stadio Olimpico, as they have lost just one of seven previous meetings with Roma – a 2-1 defeat in 2019, when the clubs last met in Rome.
All three prior ties have seen the Portuguese side go through: in the 1981-82 Cup Winners’ Cup, then the 2016-17 Champions League qualifiers, and finally the Champions League’s last 16 six years ago.
However, Porto have also won just five of their last 26 knockout matches in UEFA competition, losing 16 – and only one of those wins came on the road.
Team News
Claudio Ranieri will be without two starters from last week’s game, as Bryan Cristante and Alexis Saelemaekers are both suspended.
Although Gianluca Mancini was replaced at half time of Roma’s weekend win over Parma, due to an ankle injury, he should be available on Thursday, when recent signing Victor Nelsson will also be in contention to replace Celik.
However, Nelsson’s fellow new boys Lucas Gourna-Douath and Anass Salah-Eddine were left off the hosts’ UEFA squad list and Devyne Rensch is still injured.
It remains to be seen whether first-choice forwards Artem Dovbyk and Paulo Dybala return to the starting XI – Matias Soule deputised for the latter on Sunday and scored Roma’s winner with a deft free-kick.
Meanwhile, Marko Grujic and Martim Fernandes are still sidelined by injury for Porto, who rested some key men against Farense. Stephen Eustaquio, Tiago Djalo, Alan Varela and star striker Samu Aghehowa could all be recalled in Rome.
The latter may not have scored in any of his last eight appearances, but he has found the net five times in this season’s Europa League.
Roma possible starting lineup:
Svilar; Mancini, Hummels, Ndicka; Abdulhamid, Kone, Paredes, Angelino; Soule, Pellegrini; Dovbyk
Porto possible starting lineup:
Costa; Djalo, Perez, Otavio; Mario, Eustaquio, Varela, Moura; Pepe, Mora; Aghehowa
