Roma have already qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa Conference League, but will find out by the end of Thursday if they will be in the play-off round or round of 16.
One match remains in the group stage, against CSKA Sofia on Thursday, to determine whether Roma will be group winners or runners up – and therefore which round they will take part in next.
The latter scenario seems more likely at present, given that Roma are relying on current leaders Bodo/Glimt to drop points against Zorya Luhansk in the other match. But Jose Mourinho’s men will just be focusing on their own task to try and end the group stage on a high note.
Looking to bounce back from consecutive defeats in Serie A, Roma have not taken a full-strength squad to Bulgaria. Rui Patricio, Chris Smalling and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are among those who have been left at home for precautionary reasons.
Therefore, there should be a first appearance of the season for Daniel Fuzato in goal. Overall, Mourinho said there would be between three and five regular starters in his lineup, with some younger options filling a few gaps.
There have been rumours that fringe players like Gonzalo Villar and Borja Mayoral could get the nod, even though Mourinho hasn’t trusted them much yet and insists he wants to win to try and top the group.
Ultimately, it won’t all be in Roma’s hands, but if they can replicate the 5-1 win from the reverse fixture, it would only help.
The game kicks off at 5:45pm UK time. It will be live on BT Sport Extra 2, via the red button.
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