Roma make the trip to Moldova on Thursday as they begin their Europa League campaign with a Group G clash against Sheriff Tiraspol. Last season’s beaten finalists will be brimming with confidence after claiming their first win of the season last weekend and should have the edge here.
Since making their first ever Champions League group stage appearance in the 2021-22 season, Sheriff Tiraspol have become regulars in European competition. They played in the group stage of the Europa League last season but failed to progress and dropped to the Conference League.
Sheriff Tiraspol are once again in the group stage of the Europa League after failing to make the cut in the Champions League. Roberto Bordin’s men fell at the second qualifying round to Maccabi Haifa before earning a 3-2 aggregate victory over Ki to secure a place in Group G.
The Moldovan champions head into Thursday’s clash in good form having lost just once in their last seven matches across all competitions. However, the result against Maccabi Haifa suggests they often struggle against experienced sides having lost home and away to Manchester United and Real Sociedad in last season’s Europa League group stage.
Roma appear to have become a mainstay in the lower tiered European competitions having played in either the Europa League or Conference League since the 2019-20 season. They followed up their Conference League triumph with a run to last season’s Europa League final which Sevilla won 1-0.
As beaten finalists last season, Roma earned a direct berth in the group stage of this year’s competition and will be looking to go one better this time around. However, Jose Mourinho’s men have not made the best start to the season, only claiming one win in four Serie A matches so far.
The good news for Roma is that the win came last weekend as they picked up an impressive 7-0 victory over Empoli. Paulo Dybala netted a brace while the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Renato Sanches and Gianluca Mancini were also on target.
Head to head
Roma are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a win priced at 1/2 by Coral. Sheriff Tiraspol are outsiders at home at 6/1 by William Hill, who is also offering odds of 17/5 for a draw.
Head to head
This will be the first ever meeting between Sheriff Tiraspol and Roma.
Players to watch
Sheriff Tiraspol will be looking to Luvannor to provide the spark in attack having found the net in four of the last six matches across all competitions. The striker was also on target in the playoff win over Ki and is priced at 5/1 with 10bet.
Paulo Dybala showed his importance to Roma last weekend as he returned from injury with a brace. The Argentine attacker will be the one to watch on Thursday and is priced at 6/4 with Paddy Power to get on the score sheet.
Anything else catch the eye?
Sheriff Tiraspol and Roma have quality in attack and both teams could be backed to score at 5/4 with Ladbrokes. Over 2.5 goals could also be considered at evens with Unibet while BetVictor is offering odds of 29/10 for over 3.5 goals.
With Roma priced at minimal odds for a straight victory, a win and over 2.5 goals can be considered at 6/4 with BoyleSports.
This UEFA Europa League match between Sheriff Tiraspol and Roma will be played on Sep 21, 2023 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best Sheriff Tiraspol vs Roma prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
