Slavia Praha are writing their own story in the Europa League this season. As for AS Roma has been a terrible run of results, and the pressure to deliver is getting to the manager and the players.
Slavia, who finished second in the Czech topflight last term, have made a fine start to the new league campaign. The Red and Whites won their first four league games to signal their readiness to challenge for the title this season.
A 2-0 win over Hradec Kralove in the season’s first game was followed by another comfortable 3-1 win over Ceske Budejovice away from home. In their third league game of the season, Slavia edged Zlin 2-1 at home before taking part in the Europa League qualifiers.
They faced Ukrainian side Dnipro-1 and won the fixture 4-1 on aggregate. Meanwhile, a league win against Mlada Boleslav is sandwiched between that Europa League win.
The Red and Whites continued their imperious form on the home front with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Ostrava, followed by a comfortable 2-0 win over FC Zorya in the first leg of their Europa League playoffs. Slavia then dropped points for the first time in the league as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Jablonec.
FC Zorya defeated them 2-1 in the return leg of the Europa League clash, but the Czech giants made it through to the group stage 3-2 on aggregate. Consecutive wins on the home front against Karvina and Pardubice then followed before going away from home to beat Servette in their Europa League group opener.
As of the time of writing, Slavia have lost just one game in all competitions this season, and they look like a side that can beat Jose Mourinho’s Roma.
As for AS Roma, it has been another tough start to the new season, and last year’s finalists are just a shadow of themselves. They played out a 2-2 draw with Salernitana in their Serie A opener before suffering back-to-back defeats to Hellas Verona and Milan.
A massive win over Empoli culminated with the return of Paulo Dybala as the World Cup winner showed his class and grabbed two goals in the one-sided affair. That result fired Roma up for the next few games before they fell apart again.
A 2-1 win over Sheriff in their Europa League opener meant they won back-to-back games for the first time this campaign. However, they went ahead to drop points to Torino, and they lost 4-1 to Genoa in an unexpected manner.
Slavia played in the Conference League last season, but they have made it to the Europa League group stage this season. Interestingly, they got to the competition’s quarterfinals in 2021, and they will desire that kind of memorable run again.
With the group still seemingly open, the Czechs will fancy their chances against Jose Mourinho’s side that lacks consistency. AS Roma played in the final last season, where they lost to Sevilla on penalties. So, they are one of the favorites to win the competition despite their poor start to the season.
On paper, the Italians might have a better squad and have enough experience, but that does not make them straight winners in this game. Games like this tend to favor the home side, and Slavia might be banking on their home support to help them achieve their desired result.
Match Tickets
The epic match at Fortuna Arena in Prague kicks off on Thursday, 9th November, at 6:45 PM UK time, and it will be shown live on TNT Sports, with coverage starting from around 6 PM.
This is a Europa League clash between one European giant and another team looking for relevance. Thursday night will be special in Prague, and Roma fans should be vocal in this game despite their recent slump.
Getting tickets for the Slavia Praha vs AS Roma tickets could take a lot of work, given the standard of this game and the size of the stadium. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Team News
Line-ups
Slavia usually utilizes a 3-4-2-1 formation with van Buren at the top of the attack flanked by Wallem and Doudera. Tomic and Dumitrescu often played wingback roles and have continued to work for coach Jindrich Trpisovsky. Meanwhile, Jakub Hromada, David Pech, and Sheriff Sinyan are players who have spent a long time in the physio’s room.
- Slavia Praha: Mandous; Masopust, Holes, Ogbu; Tomic, Sevcik, Dorley, Dumitrescu; Doudera, Wallem; van Buren.
Fans sometimes don’t know the kind of performance they can get from Roma. Jose Mourinho’s side can hit top gear in this game and go below average in the next one. Regardless, Rui Patricio should continue in goal, and then Dybala and Lukaku, beginning to share an understanding, should continue their partnership in attack. Defender Chris Smalling, striker Tammy Abraham, and Marash Kumbulla are long-term absentees.
- AS Roma: Patricio; Mancini, Llorente, Ndicka; Nissen, Cristante, Paredes, Sanchez, Spinazzola; Dybala, Lukaku.
Prediction
Slavia has faced Italian opposition 28 times, winning nine of those games. It seems the Red and Whites are in strong form to reach double digits of wins. Meanwhile, they have won eight of their 13 home games against Italians.
Roma, dating back to last season, failed to score in their last four away Europa League matches before scoring twice against Sheriff. In total, the Giallorossi have just two wins from their previous nine away matches.
Lukas Haraslin is Slavia’s dangerman, and Roma’s defense must be wary of him if they want to get a result in Prague. In Roma’s camp, Romelu Lukaku enjoys playing in this competition and will be keen to help his side get a result against this tricky Czech side.
- Slavia Praha 1-1 AS Roma
