Roma will be looking to reach the halfway point of the Europa League group stage unbeaten when they take on CFR Cluj on Thursday evening.
The European campaign has begun with a win over Young Boys and a draw with CSKA Sofia. Now, they will play their third and final opponent of the group stage – before doing it all again after the international break.
This will not be the first ever meeting between the two sides. They first played each other in the group stage of the 2008-09 Champions League, with each side winning their away game. Roma will be hoping that does not happen at Stadio Olimpico tonight.
More recently, Roma claimed one win and one draw against Cluj in the Champions League group stages in 2010-11. Thursday’s game will be the first time the two sides have played each other in a decade, then.
Roma head into the game on the back of an eight-game unbeaten run on the pitch. They have never gone nine games without defeat under Fonseca, so the coach will be hoping for his best record.
So far this season, Fonseca has rotated his lineup heavily between Serie A and the Europa League. He is likely to use more of his fringe players again for this game, even if he insisted at his press conference that he does not have one team for the league and one team for Europe.
“For me the key thing is to choose the best players for each game,” he said. “I will do that again, while obviously paying attention to the fitness and condition of each player.”
One player who will probably start is Borja Mayoral. The striker has got more playing time in the Europa League than Serie A since joining in the summer, but is still looking for his first goal in Roma colours.
Embed from Getty ImagesThere is a chance that he could play alongside captain Edin Dzeko for the first time. Carles Perez is a doubt, while Pedro may be rested, so Roma could opt for two strikers and one attacking midfielder, rather vice versa.
At the back, Chris Smalling will not start the game, despite impressing in his two appearances last week. Fonseca has confirmed that starting three games in a row would be too much to ask for the Englishman.
“We can’t forget that he didn’t do pre-season with us and he has only recently started training again with us,” Fonseca said. “It’s better for him if he doesn’t start [the] game.”
Therefore, there could be chances for Federico Fazio and Juan Jesus at the back. Marash Kumbulla is another candidate to start, having been the last player to score for Roma in Europe.
While Roma are looking to maintain their positive momentum, so are their visitors. Cluj are currently above the Giallorossi in Group A on goal difference, and have only lost one of their last 12 games in all competitions.
There aren’t many famous names among their playing squad, but they do have a well-known manager – former Bradford City and Sheffield Wednesday player Dan Petrescu.
This is his second spell in charge of Cluj, having returned in 2019. They have already won three league titles under his leadership.
However, Roma will pose a challenge to their opponents, who only have one fit central defender at present. It could be a good opportunity for Mayoral to prove himself – especially if he is deployed next to Dzeko.
Roma have not lost at home in the Europa League since 2017, so will hope to continue that positive trend. If they win, they will top the group after three games.
The game kicks off at 5:55pm UK time. It will not be shown live on TV, but those with a BT Sport subscription can watch it online here.
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