Roma manager Ivan Juric discussed his team selection for the night as the Giallorossi prepare to face Athletic Club in their first Europa League game of the season. Seeking a successful return to the continental stage, Roma meet Athletic Bilbao in their Europa League opener, as they get their campaign under way on Thursday evening. The clash at Stadio Olimpico will be the teams' first meeting in UEFA competition, coming as the hosts have switched managers and their Basque visitors have run into top form.
With just three points on the board from four Serie A matches, Roma's board recently sacked former boss Daniele De Rossi, before the club icon could begin an assault on going two steps further in this season's Europa League. After taking over from Jose Mourinho, he led the Giallorossi to the semi-finals - where they were edged out by Bayer Leverkusen - but starting slowly this term cost him his job and Croatian coach Ivan Juric was swiftly appointed. Despite being faced by fan protests at Stadio Olimpico, Roma finally managed to post their first win of the season last time out, beating in-form Udinese 3-0 with thanks to goals from Artem Dovbyk, Tommaso Baldanzi and Paulo Dybala.
Having made such a strong start in trying circumstances, Juric will now attempt to lead his side to victory on the opening matchday of UEFA's new-look Europa League, in which each team plays eight different opponents during the league phase. Of course, the Giallorossi won the inaugural Conference League trophy under Mourinho just over two years ago, and they also have a strong recent record in Europe's second-tier tournament. Roma have lost just three of their last 18 Europa League matches - winning half - and across seven home games in the competition last season they suffered only one setback.
However, the capital club will head into Thursday's game having won just one of their last eight against Spanish sides, of which Athletic Club will become the 10th they have faced. While Roma are regulars in UEFA competition, Athletic last featured on the European stage back in 2018, when they were knocked out in the Europa League's last 16 by Marseille. The Bilbao club lost their last three games of that campaign, and six years on they will be keen to avoid losing four consecutive European ties for the first time in their history.
Ernesto Valverde's side will surely be confident of both swerving that fate and taking points home from Rome, as they are now seeking a fourth straight victory following a trio of La Liga wins in the second half of September. Last week, Athletic moved up into third place in the table after seeing off Celta Vigo through a first-half brace from Gorka Guruzeta and Alvaro Djalo's first goal in Spanish football. After last term's Copa del Rey triumph and fifth-placed league finish, the Basque side are aiming even higher this time around - and former Barcelona boss Valverde may target a deep run in Europe too.
Having won only once in nine previous trips to Italy - and not since 1997 - Athletic Club can try to turn a new page on Thursday and give their Europa League challenge a quick start. Ivan Juric may make changes between league fixtures anyway, but his hand could be forced in the case of Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini, who is a doubt to feature on Thursday. The Italy midfielder limped off against Udinese with a knee problem and has subsequently missed training, so he could join Alexis Saelemaekers and Enzo Le Fee on the sidelines - the latter hopes to be back for Sunday's Serie A game versus Venezia.
Having now scored in back-to-back matches for the Giallorossi, Ukrainian striker Artem Dovbyk faces one of the few La Liga sides he failed to find the net against in a superb 2023-24 season at Girona. Meanwhile, Athletic Club are set to be without the services of star man Nico Williams for their trip to Italy, as the Euro 2024 winner suffered a sprained ankle during the recent game against Leganes. Yeray Alvarez and first-choice goalkeeper Unai Simon are also unavailable, with Julen Agirrezabala continuing to deputise for the latter between the posts.
Inaki Williams will be expected to step up in the likely absence of his brother, with Alex Berenguer, Oihan Sancet and Alvaro Djalo also fighting for selection in the final third; Gorka Guruzeta should start up front. Roma fans have again jeered the players ahead of their Europa League match with Athletic Club, but Angelino insists they ‘feel stronger now.’
Juric's Rotation Strategy
Rotation & Lineup Changes
We should see at least a handful of changes from Sunday’s 3-0 win over Udinese. “We still have to decide and we have another training session tomorrow morning, We’ll certainly make a few changes, but we haven’t decided who yet.” [That was Ivan Juric’s response to the opening question of his prematch presser when asked about squad rotation.](https://sports.yahoo.com/ivan-juric-discusses-roma-line-183400428.html) However, we should still expect some changes from Sunday’s debut victory for Juric against Udinese. One player who won’t take part is Lorenzo Pellegrini, who has been ruled out with a knee issue.“He won’t be involved tomorrow. He was doubtful for the previous game but wanted to make it at all costs. However, he felt a bit of pain in his knee. He’s trained separately and I hope he’ll be ok for the next game. He looks good. The lads have been working with a smile and there’s a good atmosphere. I’m happy with him and all the others. The last game has given us a lot of confidence.” It’ll likely be down to Tomasso Baldanzi or Matías Soulé to replace Lorenzo Pellegrini in the attacking midfield after Juric ruled out Bryan Cristante reviving his role at Atalanta.
“I see him more as a central midfielder. He’s a tidy player who dictates the play and understands what’s happening on the pitch. I don’t really see him further forward. There are other midfielders who might be more suited to playing in the role you’re suggesting.” At the moment, it seems like Baldanzi is poised to get his first start in support of Artem Dovbyk alongside Paulo Dybala. But, Juric was noncommittal on Dybala as well.
“This is something we need to be very careful about. We have a fantastic team of fitness coaches here. He’s recovered well from Sunday’s game but we need to assess things. When he’s fit and on form, he’s a special player. We’ll try to make sure he can play the whole season and not get injured. We’ll choose game by game.” If Juric does sit Dybala, then Soulé would start in the attacking midfield as well—a position Juric sees him most suited to play.
“I see him as a trequartista. He can go wide but I don’t really see him covering the entire flank. I think it’s been a big step up for him. He’s very professional and hard-working. He’ll get his chances.” In support of the attacking trio, Cristante is again expected to start. And it’s likely we see either Manu Koné or Niccoló Pisilli pairing with him in the central midfield. At the moment, Sky Sport is tipping the Italian.
Evaluating the Squad
“We have an excellent squad. I'd like to be able to use 20 players and be satisfied. Obviously, we're not going to be perfect, but that's fine. Kone is an excellent player, a talented player who is hungry for success. I'm sure he'll improve in lots of areas. He has plenty of qualities. We'll have a good season together.” Wide of those two are likely to be Zeki Çelik and Angeliño. Juric paid Angeliño high praise by comparing him to Federico Dimarco who Juric coached at Hellas Verona.“He can play in both positions. I really liked the way he played the other day. He defended superbly. He's very aggressive but is excellent with the ball at his feet. He's very good in the back three but can play as wing-back too. He can happily do either.” Rounding out the XI will be a back three composed of Gianluca Mancini, Mario Hermoso, and Evan Ndicka, as Mats Hummels is not yet ready for his Roma debut. This was confirmed by Juric.
“Not long, I hope. He's not at his best yet but he looks like a very positive player. Including the way he acted during the game. He's slotted into the dressing room with a bit of an aura. We've done some training and I'm sure we'll see him out there before long.”
