We head to the Europa League now with Roma vs Servette on Thursday as the two teams meet at Stadio Olimpico in Group G. The Giallorossi defeated Sheriff Tiraspol 2-1 in their first group match of the campaign, whilst the visitors lost 2-0 at home to Slavia Prague.
Roma boss Jose Mourinho is still not able to attend the match as his suspension continues following his poor behaviour in last season’s Europa League final. However, the Portuguese boss has faith in his staff and players to get the job done this week.
Swiss side Servette managed to get past Genk in the second round of their Champions League qualifier but couldn’t defeat Rangers in the third. That left them with a spot in the Europa League group stage for the first time in their history. Here is our Roma vs Servette preview.
Roma Preview
It has been a season to forget for Roma so far who have struggled, winning just three games across all competitions this term. They are lacking any sort of rhythm or intensity thus far. The Giallorossi failed to record the victory in any of their opening three Serie A outings before humiliating Empoli 7-0 at the Olimpico.
A 2-1 win away to Sheriff in their Europa League opener seemed as though Roma were getting back on track, picking up successive victories. However, it was hardly a convincing triumph and was narrowly secured by a second half goal by Romelu Lukaku. A 1-1 draw away to Torino, followed by a heavy 4-1 loss away to newly-promoted Genoa, saw Roma fail to pick up any sort of momentum and also signalled that Mourinho has a lot of work to do for the rest of the campaign.
The capital club were able to get back to winning ways last time out, though, as they defeated Frosinone 2-0 on their own turf. Goals from Lukaku and Lorenzo Pellegrini wrapped up a much-needed victory for the Giallorossi on Sunday but Roma still sit in the bottom half of the table.
One To Watch: Romelu Lukaku
The Belgium international has been one of the few positives for Roma this season and has an excellent record in the Europa League. He won the match for them against Sheriff and has scored four goals in his last five appearances. He has started the last five straight games, though, so Mourinho could opt to start him from the bench in this one.
Servette Preview
Servette finished in second-place last term in the Swiss Super League as they managed to qualify for a place in Champions League qualifiers. Nevertheless, they failed to get past Rangers in the third round so they have entered the Europa League group stage for the first time here.
The Maroons have been poor so far this season and currently sit down in eighth in the league, picking up just ten points from nine matches. They have leaked plenty of goals so far this term too, conceding a total of 15 in the Swiss Super League. However, Servette got back on winning terms at the weekend as they defeated Lausanne 2-1 in Geneva in what was their first league win since July.
Losing 2-0 at home to Slavia Prague was not the way they wanted to start their European campaign either. Servette went a goal down after around half an hour of play and couldn’t recover as they went on to concede a second after the break. Servette will be searching for their first-ever European group stage victory up against the Italian giants.
One To Watch: Miroslav Stevanovic
The Bosnian midfielder has scored in back-to-back games for Servette and was able to open the scoring in the win against Lausanne. Miroslav Stevanovic was able to provide a total of 17 goal contributions in the Swiss Super League last term so is a clear creative threat.
Head-to-Head
Roma and Servette are yet to meet each other throughout their history.
Roma vs Servette Potential Lineups & Team News
Roma (3-4-3): Mile Svilar; Gianluca Mancini, Bryan Cristante, Evan Ndicka; Rick Karsdorp, Edoardo Bove, Leandro Paredes, Leonardo Spinazzola; Lorenzeo Pellegrini, Romelu Lukaku, Stephan El Shaarawy
A host of injury problems, especially at the back, has made things increasingly harder for Roma this season. The absence of Chris Smalling has been the predominant issue. The Englishman has now missed the past five games due to injury. Fellow defenders Marash Kumbulla and Diego Llorente will continue to be sidelined too, meaning Bryan Cristante could keep his spot in defense.
Mourinho has stated that he will make changes to his side ahead of their clash here. Edoardo Bove is expected to feature from the off, like he did against Sheriff in their last Europa League clash. Renato Sanches is in doubt after missing the past three matches, whilst Tammy Abraham remains a long-term absentee. Rasmus Kristensen and Sardar Azmoun unable to feature since they are unregistered.
Servette (4-4-2): Joel Mall; Keigo Tsunemoto, Steve Rouiller, Jerome Onguene, Bradley Mazikou; Miroslav Stevanovic, Timothe Cognat, Alexis Antunes, David Douline; Jeremy Guillemenot, Chris Bedia
Goalkeeper Jeremy Frick is in doubt to play since he missed the last game due to injury. Joel Mall is expected to keep his spot in between the sticks. Anthony Baron, Theo Magnin and Alexander Lyng will all remain on the sidelines as well as they continue to recover from injury.
Roma vs Servette Prediction
Roma have truly been woeful this season but they should back themselves in a home match-up against Servette here. The Swiss visitors have been pretty awful so far this season too so it would be extremely unexpected if they were to take anything from the match here.
Roma 3-0 Servette