A place in the group phase is the prize as Trabzonspor host Roma in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League playoff at Medical Park Stadium. Trabzonspor have a good home record but Roma have the quality to earn a draw here.
Trabzonspor needed penalties before seeing off Molde in the previous round of the competition. They followed up a 3-3 draw at home with a 1-1 scoreline in Norway before triumphing 4-3 in the shootout.
The result means Trabzonspor are now unbeaten in their last 19 matches across all competitions, although they have drawn both their matches in the UEFA Conference League qualifiers. Abdullah Avci’s men warmed up for the playoffs with a 5-1 victory over Yeni Malatyaspor in their opening fixture of the Turkish Super Lig with Anthony Nwakaeme, Gervinho and Djaniny all on target.
Trabzonspor often enjoy an attacking style of play, scoring four goals in two matches against Molde and putting five past Yeni Malatyaspor last week. However, they are just as porous at the back with no clean sheets in their last four matches while also conceding four goals against the Norwegians in the previous round.
Roma are set to make their first appearance in the UEFA Conference League having drawn a bye in the previous round. They travel to Trabzonspor off the back of a 5-0 victory over Raja Casablanca in their final preseason friendly.
It was mixed fortunes for Roma in preseason and they head into Thursday’s clash with two wins and two draws from their last five matches. While they will have one eye on their Serie A opener against Fiorentina on Sunday, the Italians will be keen to claim a positive result ahead of the second leg.
New manager Jose Mourinho has a reputation for being defensive but Roma have shown plenty of attacking verve in preseason as evidenced by the five goals against Raja Casablanca. They have also not been convincing at the back with six goals conceded in their last three matches.
How the bookies view it
Roma are considered favourites among the bookies with a win priced at 19/20 by SBK. A victory for Trabzonspor is valued at 10/3 by bet365 while a draw is set at odds of 5/2 with Unibet.
Trabzonspor are already deep into competitive action but I fancy Roma under Jose Mourinho to have enough to earn a draw in Turkey.
Head to head
This will be the first ever meeting between Trabzonspor and Roma.
Players to watch
Anthony Nwakaeme, Gervinho and Djaniny have impressed this season and were all on target for Trabzonspor in their last fixture. Trabzonspor have found the net in their last four matches and with all three men featuring in attack, they could be backed to score at 42/100 with Vbet.
Roma also have some attacking quality of their own with Borja Mayoral and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who have been among the goals in preseason. The Italians have scored in nine of their last 10 matches and both men can ensure that run continues at 2/11 with Vbet.
Anything else catch the eye?
There were over 5.5 goals in Trabzonspor’s last home fixture in the UEFA Conference League and Red Zone is offering 12/1 for a similar outcome while over 4.5 goals is valued at 13/2 with BetVictor. Over 3.5 goals is priced at 5/2 with bet365 while over 2.5 goals is set at odds of 21/20 with the same firm.
Given the attacking quality both teams possess, BTTS Yes can be backed at 10/11 with William Hill.
This UEFA Europa League Conference match between Trabzonspor and Roma will be played on Aug 19, 2021 and kick off at 18:30. Check below for our tipsters best Trabzonspor vs Roma prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.