The State of Play
Since the sacking of Jose Mourinho in mid-January and then subsequent appointment of club legend Daniele De Rossi into the Roma dugout, the Giallorossi have been magnificent to watch. They came through a penalty shootout against Feyenoord in the knockout playoffs of the UEFA Europa League to reach this stage and have enjoyed excellent form in Serie A with six wins out of seven since De Rossi’s return.
Brighton and Hove Albion are into the knockout stages of a European competition and are still pushing for another top seven finish in the Premier League. The Seagulls are overperforming, once again, despite some inconsistencies in both performances and results. They have remained entertaining to watch, too, with their 27 matches consisting of 93 goals in the top-flight of English football.
Read our other Champions League news stories here:
Manchester City vs FC Copenhagen: Preview and prediction
Bayern Munich: Rummenigge plays down Xabi Alonso reports
Real Madrid: Camavinga claims no knowledge of Mbappe agreement
Team News
Roma boss Daniele De Rossi has pretty much a fully fit and available squad for this one but he remains without England international Tammy Abraham, who suffered an ACL injury at the start of this season.
Roberto De Zerbi and Brighton and Hove Albion welcomed Julio Enciso back last week and Billy Gilmour is available for this one after being suspended in the Premier League. Kaoru Mitoma, Joao Pedro and Solly March remain injured, though, for the Seagulls.
Expected Line-ups
Roma: Svilar; Kristensen, Mancini, Ndicka, Tasende; Cristante, Paredes, Pellegrini; Dybala, Lukaku, Il Faraone
Brighton: Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Webster; Lamptey, Gilmour, Gross, Estupinan; Lallana, Enciso; Welbeck
What they Said
Daniele De Rossi has said that he expects a ‘fiery’ atmosphere at the Olimpico for the visit of Brighton on Thursday due to the ‘enthusiasm’ brought about by their good form.
Roberto De Zerbi has said he expects his Brighton team to be much-improved this week, saying “we’ll react the right way on Thursday.”
When and How to Watch
This match will be played at Stadio Olimpico on Thursday March 7th at 17:45 and will be shown live on TNT Sports in the UK. It will also be able to be streamed live via the TNT Sports app.
Prediction
Daniele De Rossi and Roberto De Zerbi have a relationship off the field and they both share similar tactical philosophies on it with this one shaping up to be one of the more entertaining and eagerly anticipated bouts in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Europa League. Both teams will seek to get on the front foot and get after their opponent so a high-scoring encounter is to be expected in the Italian capital on Thursday evening.
