TOTTENHAM will aim to strengthen their place in the top eight of the Europa League as the competition shifts past the midway point of the initial league phase. They take on an out-of-sorts Roma in London on Thursday, November 28th and here we preview the big clash.
How the bookies view it: Spurs odds-on favourites
Tottenham have been shortened into as much as 8/11 to get the win at home against their Serie A opponents on Thursday night. Spurs have posted a W3 L1 record in the competition so far. They next face a Roma side who have been badly struggling on all fronts this season and who just brought Claudio Ranieri out of retirement as a new head coach to try and turn their fortunes around. The Italians are 16/5 underdogs in the match outright.
Recent head-to-head: First clash coming up
Thursday night will be the first-ever competitive meeting between Tottenham and Roma. Spurs have played 10 previous home matches against Italian sides however and have returned a W5 D4 L1 record from those games. Roma have only managed one win in 23 previous matches in England.
Players to watch: Maddison the man for Spurs?
James Maddison was in fine form on the weekend, netting a brace to help lift Spurs to an away win at Manchester City in the Premier League. It was the kind of performance that warrants a starting role in a big home game like this. Given his form, he’s a good anytime goalscorer option.
Spurs will really be hoping for bigger output from Dominic Solanke, their big summer signing up front. He has scored twice in four appearances (one start) in the Europa League this season. He will surely be fired up and looking to make his mark. Artem Dovbyk is Roma’s top scorer this season with two in four appearances and is their main threat up front.
Predicted Lineups
The big news this week from Spurs has been the loss of keeper Guglielmo Vicario who suffered a broken ankle in Premier League action on the weekend, which means that Fraser Forster will deputise until Spurs can sort out the issue. Will Lankshear and Mikey Moore who have played in Europe this season for the Londoners are both ruled out. Roma arrive pretty much at full strength but Eldor Shomurodov is out.
Tottenham Hotspur: Forster; Spence, Dragusin, Davies, Gray; Sarr, Bentancur, Bergvall; Johnson, Solanke, Werner
Roma: Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Hummels, Angelino; Soule, Baldanzi, Cristante, Zalewski; Dybala, Dovbyk
Anything else catch the eye?
Roma have been in disarray this season and have lost three of their last four in all competitions, winning only two of their last ten played (D2 L6). Given that they have a terrible record in England anyway, going winless since their lone win in the country back in 2001 against Liverpool. It looks like it will be a long night for them.
Spurs have had their issues with inconsistencies this season, but at home, they should have this wrapped up. Opponents Roma only scored three goals in their four Europa League matches this season and shouldn’t pose too much of a threat. Tottenham have won their last seven Europa League home matches on the spin, scoring 19 and conceding 0 in that sequence. A clean-sheet victory on Thursday night doesn’t look too far beyond the realms of probability.
This UEFA Europa League match between Tottenham and Roma will be played on Nov 28, 2024 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best Tottenham vs Roma prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
