Tottenham Hotspur will host Roma on Thursday in one of the expected matches of the fifth round of the UEFA Europa League, with each team in contrasting mode.
Spurs lost to Galatasaray on matchday four, but are still firmly in the top eight and have a chance to further solidify their status with a win at this speed. Roma, meanwhile, sit in 20th place with just one win from their first four Europa League matches and could take advantage of things to improve their chances of reaching the last round with just four games left in the league stage. . .
Here’s what you need to know before you tune in.
How can they be monitored and the probabilities?
- While: Thursday, November 28 | Past: 3 pm eastern time
- Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – London, England
- Notice: Supreme+
- Odd: Tottenham Hotspur -140; Draw +310; Rome +310
Arguments
Tottenham Hotspur: As inconsistent as they are, there are still plenty of positives for the Spurs as they move into the second week of their rebuild under coach Ange Postecoglou. They are the Premier League’s top scorers with 27 goals in 12 games, four of which came in a shock 4-0 win over Manchester Town on Saturday. They also rank in the top three in some attacking statistics, finding goals from different players. Brennan Johnson unusually leads the way with eight goals in all competitions, during which time new signing Dominic Solanke has settled in well with six goals so far this season.
However, one of Spurs’ problems is that they are quite leaky at the back, conceding 13 goals in Premier League action so far and four in Europa League games. It’s not entirely surprising given Postecoglou’s personal tactical tastes, although the illness is sometimes aggravated on days when he’s trying to hit targets. Despite being prominent with an offensive-minded philosophy, the Spurs have been a bit hot and cold in that section this season. In Premier League action, their expected goals to determine are fixed on the days they win (7.6) and the days they don’t (7.7), but so far they are achieving 17.1 expected goals from their six wins and six.6 expected. objectives of their six games without winning.
It is difficult to understand which version of Spurs will appear, especially as Postecoglou has been rotating through his squad to meet the demands of European action. Starting centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero will miss this game, and although he was unlikely to play games on Thursday, the biggest setback for Spurs at this rate was goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario undergoing surgery. a broken ankle and will be out for several weeks.
Roma: Regardless of the opposite of moving from one energy to another, Roma seem to have found it this season. Now they are running with their third coach of the season, luring Claudio Ranieri not to leave and luring him back through the world star. They have not yet been able to take the right direction, losing over the weekend to the league leader, Napoli, but they have a very important activity ahead of them.
Roma have just three wins in 13 Serie A games this season and are 12th in their home league, managing just one win in four Europa League games and are 20th in that tournament. They are still very much in the mix to walk into the final round of the Europa League, but will want to start solving problems somewhere with only four games left. Spurs aren’t the only high-calibre team left standing either: matches against fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt and 17th-placed AZ Alkmaar could also pose some demanding situations.
Roma cut their teeth defensively in Europe by conceding just three goals, although the fact that they have conceded 18 goals in Serie A action suggests there is room for growth in that segment. However, they will have to work on improving their goals: they have scored only three goals in four Europa League games so far.
projected alignment
Tottenham Hotspur: Forster, Porro, Dragusin, Davies, Grey, Bergvall, Bentancur, Kulusevski, Johnson, Lankshear, Son
Roma: Svilar, Celik, Mancini, Ndicka, Angelino, El Shaarawy, Kone, Cristante, Pisilli, Pellegrini, Dovbyk
Prediction
It’s hard to know what to expect from Roma as they enter some other transition period, but Spurs’ wisdom about their own machine puts the hosts on the brink. It is to be hoped that Postecoglou’s team will come out with an advantage, although not necessarily with a blank slate. Select: Tottenham Hotspur 2, Roma 1
