Roma are ready for one of their biggest games of the season as they contest the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final with Ajax on Thursday.
This competition could be the easiest route into the Champions League if Roma can go all the way, but they must take things step by step.
The first of those steps will be to finish the job they started in Amsterdam. Roma earned a 2-1 win in the first leg against Ajax, bringing two crucial away goals back to Italy.
Therefore, the Dutch side will need to score at least twice to stand any chance of overturning Roma’s lead in the tie. But it is far from over.
Ajax can welcome back some of the players that missed the first leg for this tie, including experienced former Roma goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg. Defender Perr Schuurs is also available for selection again, meaning Ajax should be stronger.
Hence, another big performance is needed over the next 90 minutes before Roma can start thinking about a semi-final against either Manchester United or Granada.
There are still some absences among the squad, with Chris Smalling, Leonardo Spinazzola and Stephan El Shaarawy among those ruled out. In the wake of Spinazzola’s absence, Riccardo Calafiori will start the match after replacing him as a substitute in the reverse leg.
The back three is likely to consist of Gianluca Mancini, Bryan Cristante and Roger Ibanez, while Pau Lopez should return in goal behind them after resting at the weekend.
Rick Karsdorp should start at right wing-back after missing the first leg, with Fonseca’s tougher selection dilemmas coming further forward. Will the out-of-form Pedro keep his place? Who will start up front out of Edin Dzeko and Borja Mayoral? Is Henrikh Mkhitaryan ready to start after his injury?
The answers will only come later on, as Roma look to advance even further on their longest run of the Europa League era.
What may work in their favour is their positive record at home in the Europa League. They have not tasted defeat on their own turf in the competition since 2017, and as long as that continues, they will make it to the last four. There is a lot of work to do to ensure that, though.
The game kicks off at 8pm UK time and will be available to watch live on BT Sport 3.
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