Tottenham Hotspur vs. AS Roma Europa League Preview: Not just gravy

Saturday’s demolition at the Etihad was just the latest entry in Tottenham Hotspur’s roller coaster that reminds everyone of the heights this club is capable of reaching. That win, of course, followed defeats to Ipswich and Galatasaray, which also remind everyone of how low this club can go. What comes next is anyone’s guess, but a win on Thursday would certainly be welcome.

That’s because Roma come to London for the latest round of Europa League fixtures, representing Tottenham’s biggest hurdle back in the league stage. A win would put Spurs in excellent shape for a bye in the Knockout Playoffs; anything less threatens to keep qualification in the balance and prevent some rest in the final couple of contests. Equally important is simply keeping the mood up after the weekend’s triumph (Guglielmo Vicario news aside).

Tottenham Hotspur (t-7th, 9th point) vs. Roma (t-19th, 5th point)

Date: Thursday, November 28
Time: 3pm ET, 8pm UK
Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
TV: Paramount+ (US), TNT Sports 1 (UK)

Things are not great in Rome. A brutal start in Serie A sees the club down to 13th place, and a 1-2-1 start in the Europa League isn’t exactly how this competition should start either. This led to Daniele De Rossi being sacked early and Ivan Juric not lasting long, resulting in Claudio Ranieri landing in charge.

Spurs haven’t faced Roma in a competitive game, which is strange given how many other Italian teams have found their way to north London. The last three instances of this all happened in the Champions League, with Juventus and Milan knocking Tottenham out of the competition and Spurs sharing the group stage with Inter during the magical run.

Trot forward

The inconsistency of the Spurs’ season has many factors, though a running theme is struggling against low blocks versus facing wide-open opponents. With Ranieri recently appointed and simply trying to stop the bleeding, it stands to reason that Roma will look to be healthy defensively, giving the home side another challenge to unlock. I won’t waste any more time trying to predict line-ups, but it feels like Ange Postecoglou will need to include some creative pieces to build an attacking threat.

Meanwhile, Artem Dovbyk and Paulo Dybala (sigh) are the threats coming the other way, although Roma have generally struggled to find goals. After Victor Osimhen’s annihilation of the Tottenham defense and Fraser Forster, I’m still a little worried about Europe, although the Ben Davies-Radu Dragusin pairing silenced the doubters against City. This is likely to be a difficult contest, but I think Spurs supporters will be thankful when this one is done.