Roma v Wolfsberger preview: Spinazzola switch likely in final group game

Roma are expected to book their place in the Round of 32 of the Europa League when they wrap up their group stage campaign against Wolfsberger on Thursday.

As long as Roma avoid defeat, they will reach the next round – while even a loss could see them through, as long as Istanbul Basaksehir don’t beat Borussia Monchengladbach in the other game.

Paulo Fonseca is preparing to make changes to his lineup, with Aleksandar Kolarov among those set to drop out. That should leave a place for Leonardo Spinazzola to switch across to his preferred left-back position, a role he has rarely played since joining in the summer.

Spinazzola scored in the reverse fixture between the two sides – one of the few matches in which he has played as a left-back this season – so he will be hoping for another lucky day.

Wolfsberger have no chance of qualifying themselves, so will be playing for pride. But for Roma, there is a lot at stake.

Fonseca’s side need to get a better result than Monchengladbach to finish top of the group – which could be crucial to their fate in the next round. With the likes of Ajax and Benfica already dropping from the Champions League into the Europa League, there will be some dangerous seeded opponents for the next round, whom Roma will be hoping to avoid.

The game kicks off at 8pm UK time.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*