Roma vs Sheriff Tiraspol

Roma and Sheriff Tiraspol are set to lock horns at the Stadio Olimpico in a lopsided final Europa League group stage contest.

Roma’s sterling beginning to the new Europa League campaign turned into a disaster. Though a three-game winning start replaced by back-to-back winless outings (D1, L1), they’re not at risk of missing out on the knockout stages. A win against Sheriff would propel them into the knockout playoff round, yet if Slavia Prague drop points against Servette, they could even move directly into the round of 16. Jose Mourinho’s men are odds-on favorites to hold up their end of the bargain, having won seven consecutive home outings before a 1-1 draw against Fiorentina at the weekend. Equally impressive in continental action, ‘I Giallorossi’ have only lost once in their last 28 European games at the Stadio Olimpico (W21, D6), a run stretching back to December 2018.

On the other hand, Sheriff Tiraspol’s leaky backline that has conceded a competition joint-high 14 goals after the opening five matches has contributed to the club’s first failed attempt to secure springtime European fixtures in three years. Nailed to the bottom of the standings with just one point to their name, the Moldovan giants have nothing but pride left to play for, though revenge could be a motive. Roman Pylypchuk’s side slipped to a 2-1 defeat in the reverse fixture, making it three losses from three encounters against Italian opposition. Avenging that result after an underwhelming 3-1 domestic loss at Balti would help Sheriff avoid losing three consecutive games within 90 minutes for the first time since 2013.