Roma take part in the first leg of their Europa League Round of 16 tie with Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday.
Aiming to progress past this stage of the competition for the first time since it became the Europa League, Roma will be facing another of Paulo Fonseca’s former sides after dispatching Braga in the previous round.
This tie will be a step up in difficulty, and Roma will need to make a strong start in their home leg at Stadio Olimpico.
These two sides last met in 2018, in the same round of the Champions League. On that occasion, Eusebio Di Francesco’s Roma beat Fonseca’s Shakhtar on away goals.
Now, Fonseca is in the other dugout, and will be hoping to defeat another of his previous clubs.
The coach is boosted by some of his key players returning after navigating the previous round with a depleted selection. Edin Dzeko – who scored the decisive goal the last time these two sides met – is back in the group, although Borja Mayoral will likely remain as the starter up front.
Embed from Getty ImagesLikewise, Roger Ibanez is available once more after injury and Marash Kumbulla returns after missing the Serie A win over Genoa at the weekend through suspension to strengthen the defence.
Hence, there are rumours that Bryan Cristante, who covered on the left of defence against Genoa, could return to midfield. Fonseca has plenty of options to choose from in that department, though, with Jordan Veretout the only major absentee.
In attacking midfield, there should be a key role for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who will also be facing his former employers. He could even start as a false nine instead of Mayoral, even though the Real Madrid loanee is Roma’s top scorer in this season’s competition.
Whoever features in the starting lineup, they will be hoping to make an impression. Roma have won their last seven home European knockout games in a row, so will be aiming to make a statement of intent by continuing that.
It won’t be plain sailing, though, as Shakhtar also have a good record in Europe. They even beat Real Madrid twice in this season’s Champions League group stages before dropping down into this competition.
Hence, Roma will need a big performance to earn the advantage ahead of next week’s second leg.
The game kicks off at 8pm UK time and will be available to watch live here.
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