Roma will have their sights set on securing a UEFA Europa League playoff place as they host Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday. The Italians have been in good form lately and given their impressive home form, should come out on top.
The 1-0 defeat at AZ Alkmaar last time out means Roma are now 20th in the table and need a win in their final fixture to confirm their place in the playoffs. However, the good news is that they are unbeaten in their previous four fixtures in the competition.
Roma are also unbeaten in seven of their last eight matches in all competitions and picked up a 2-1 Serie A win at Udinese last weekend. Claudio Ranieri’s men are particularly impressive at the Stadio Olimpico where they have won their last six matches in all competitions, scoring in both halves five times in that run.
Second placed Eintracht Frankfurt are already guaranteed a playoff place but still need to confirm their place in the top eight. Dino Toppmoller’s men have won five of their last six matches in the competition and beat Ferencvaros 2-0 in their previous fixture.
A slight problem for Frankfurt is their away form, they are winless in four of their last five matches on the road. They played out a 2-2 Bundesliga draw at Hoffenheim last weekend while their last Europa League away fixture ended in a 3-2 defeat at Lyon.
Claudio Ranieri will look to Roma’s regular starters in a crucial Europa League game against Eintracht Frankfurt, picking Paulo Dybala and Artem Dovbyk in attack.
The Giallorossi have only collected nine points in the opening seven rounds, so they need a win to remain in a playoff spot regardless of other teams’ results.
Ranieri can practically rely on a full squad and will pick the regular Roma starters.
The only unavailable players are new signings Devyne Rensch and Pierluigi Gollini and Samuel Dahl, who are all not part of Roma’s UEFA list.
Bryan Cristante is available but recovering from an injury, so he’s expected to start on the bench. This will free up space in the middle of the park for Manu Kone and Leandro Paredes.
Roma (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Mancini, Hummels, Ndicka; Saelemaekers, Paredes, Kone, Angelino; Dybala, Pellegrini; Dovbyk.
E. Frankfurt (3-4-2-1): Trapp; Collins, Koch, Theate; Kristensen, Shkiri, Larsson, Brown; Gotze, Knauff; Ekitike.
