Roma v Servette is a match from the second day of the Europa League group stage and will be played on Thursday at 21:00: TV, predictions.
While in the league, after the first seven matches, Roma find themselves occupying an anonymous and desultory 13th place in the standings, in Europe everything seems to be going well for José Mourinho’s team. In a far from impossible group, the Giallorossi did not disappoint expectations and got off on the right foot, going on to win at the hostile Sheriff Tiraspol (1-2), defeated thanks to Lukaku’s decisive goal.
The Belgian striker immediately settled into his new reality and is, at the moment, one of the few certainties for the Portuguese coach, who is being questioned for the first time in his Capitoline adventure. Last Sunday, the former Inter Milan and Chelsea striker scored again in the regional derby against Frosinone, which ended 2-0 to the Giallorossi: he and Pellegrini signed off on a vital victory, given that the 4-1 defeat against Genoa in the midweek match had made the atmosphere incandescent. Mourinho is now looking for continuity in the Europa League, where it will be important to close the games for the first place as soon as possible. At the Stadio Olimpico come the Swiss side Servette, who were decisively beaten on the first day by Slavia Prague, who returned from their trip to Geneva with three precious points in their pockets (0-2).
The Swiss are not scary
The continuous European commitments have probably conditioned the league performance of the Swiss team, coached by Rene Weiler.
Douline
Servette has been involved in the Champions League preliminaries since the end of July: after eliminating Genk on penalties, they came off worst in the double-header against Scottish side Rangers and were relegated to the Europa League. In the Super League it is only eighth in a league of twelve teams: after a long fast of victories, it broke through last Saturday, beating Lausanne 2-1. Weiler is expected to field the standard formation, favouring a scholastic 4-4-2 in an attempt to limit the damage: so far the Helvetians have left something to be desired in the non-possession phase, conceding a high number of goals. Mourinho, on the other hand, will make a minimum of turnover. Without Smalling, Llorente, Abraham, Kumbulla and Renato Sanches, the Special One will rely on the unpublished Lukaku-Belotti attacking pair.
The Prediction
The Servette side are largely within Roma’s reach: although they are still recovering, the Giallorossi are unlikely to slip up in such a game. The Swiss will be defending almost exclusively, so it will be Mourinho’s team that will have to play the game: we imagine a comfortable victory for Lukaku and his team-mates, who are likely to score between two and four goals.
Roma v Servette likely line-ups
- ROMA (3-5-2): Svilar; Mancini, Cristante, N’Dicka; Karsdorp, Bove, Aouar, Paredes, Zalewski; Lukaku, Belotti.
- SERVETTE (4-4-2): Mall; Tsunemoto, Severin, Rouiller, Mazikou; Stevanovic, Cognat, Douline, Antunes; Guillemenot, Bedia.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-0
