Roma know they will need to produce a big performance when they visit England to take on Manchester United in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final.
Much is at stake, so Roma will be hoping to do better than they have managed on their previous visits to Manchester.
No players remain from the last squad to face the Red Devils, but there are some players in the current Roma roster who have played against them before. Here’s how they have fared.
Federico Fazio
Embed from Getty ImagesNot in the Europa League squad, so ineligible to play, Fazio will not get the chance to add to his solitary appearance against United.
That came when he was at Tottenham, as he played the full 90 minutes in a 0-0 draw in December 2014.
Rick Karsdorp
Embed from Getty ImagesKarsdorp’s Feyenoord were drawn in the same Europa League group as United in the 2016-17 season, the year before he joined Roma.
The home fixture went well for Karsdorp, who played all 90 minutes of a 1-0 win. However, their visit to Old Trafford was less successful, as they lost 4-0, with the right-back once again playing the full match.
Davide Santon
Embed from Getty ImagesSanton has played against Man Utd more times than any other non-Italian club. Two of those came with Inter in the 2008-09 Champions League, when he played both legs of a Round of 16 tie at left-back. Inter drew at home 0-0 but lost away 2-0.
A move to the Premier League materialised a few years later for Santon, who played against United five times for Newcastle – three times on the left side of defence and two on the right. In total, Newcastle won two of those games (3-0 at home in 2012 and 1-0 away in 2013) and lost three.
Jordan Veretout
Embed from Getty ImagesVeretout’s first ever home appearance for Aston Villa came against Man Utd. He lasted 78 minutes as his side lost 1-0, the first defeat of a season that would end in relegation.
Veretout did not stick around and returned to his native France with Saint-Ettiene, where he came up against United again in the Europa League Round of 32 the following season. Once again, that brought misery, as ASSE lost 3-0 away and 1-0 at home to make it three losses out of three for their midfielder against Man Utd.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Embed from Getty ImagesOne of two current Roma players to have played for Man Utd before, Mkhitaryan made two appearances against his former employers after leaving them for Arsenal.
On the first occasion, he scored before being taken off in a 2-1 loss in April 2018. Then eight months later, he came on as a half-time substitute in a 2-2 draw. He will be hoping it will be third time lucky as he tries to overcome his old club.
Pedro
Embed from Getty ImagesOne of his most common foes, Pedro faced Man Utd twice with Barcelona and 12 times with Chelsea.
Both those appearances with Barcelona were Champions League finals, and Pedro was on the winning side both times – even scoring in the one he started.
In England, his record against United was more mixed. He only won one of his nine Premier League appearances against them, drawing and losing four each. Pedro played a key role in that single league win though, getting one goal and one assist in a 4-0 triumph in October 2016.
He also recorded one win (as a late substitute) and one loss against United in the FA Cup and a solitary defeat in the EFL Cup.
Edin Dzeko
Embed from Getty ImagesDuring his time with United’s rivals Manchester City, Dzeko was always a danger in derby matches. He scored five goals against them from just seven appearances.
That followed his strong showings against them with Wolfsburg back in the Champions League group stage in 2009. Dzeko scored both home and away against United, but his side lost both fixtures.
When he moved to England he maintained his positive scoring record, coming off the bench to net a brace in a 6-1 thrashing in October 2011 and also scoring a double in a 3-0 win in March 2014.
His record in terms of results, though, is mixed, with four wins and three losses across appearances in the Premier League and Community Shield. He did score in that latter competition as well, despite a 3-2 defeat in 2011.
Of his seven career goals against United, five came at Old Trafford, so he will be hoping for a happy return to a prolific stomping ground.
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