Roma – Gent

Roma faces Gent at the Stadio Olimpico in a first leg from the 1/16-finals of Europa League. Let’s dive into this game and preview it, should we?

Roma didn’t have an easy campaign in the group stage of the tournament as they beat Borussia M’gladbach with just one point for the second place. The Italians won just two of their matches in the group, doing three draws and losing once. They were not dominant, but they still managed to win the second place and that’s the most important thing right now.

Roma’s biggest problem right now is the fact that the Wolves are in a terrible shape. Paulo Fonseca’s team suffered four losses in the last five games, which is unacceptable for the club. If the Portuguese manager doesn’t find a way to fix this, there’s a real danger for him for not finishing the season. Roma is a big club and they can’t allow themselves results like this to continue.

Gent also played in the group stage and they did a little bit better, winning their group with 12 points and didn’t losing even once. So far Gent are playing very well in the competition and the team’s manager Jess Thorup can’t be unhappy with his players. But now ahead of the Danish tactician is a very big challenge.

Gent’s current form is much better than Roma’s. The team won 7 of its last 8 games, although the Belgian First Division A can’t be compared to the Serie A, of course. Still, it gives Gent some good confidence before the first leg at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday.

Don’t be too quick to bet on Roma against Gent, we warn you. The Wolves are in a really bad shape right now, so we are not sure what to expect from them on Thursday. This is a great chance for Gent to get a good result in the Italian capital.