Opposition Preview: AS Roma

On Thursday evening, Tottenham Hotspur will lock horns with AS Roma in North London for match day five of their Europa League campaign, as they look to bounce back from the disappointment of the defeat at Galatasaray last time out in Europe.

So, what can we expect from Roma heading into this showdown?

How AS Roma are looking ahead of tomorrow evening's fixture

It has been a turbulent time for the capital club, who are now on their fourth manager of the year. Having previously employed Jose Mourinho, Daniele De Rossi, and Ivan Juric in 2024, they have now moved to bring in Claudio Ranieri, for his third spell in charge of the club.

As you can tell by the high churn of managers, three this campaign alone, Roma are having a pretty poor season, in fact, they are having their worst start to a season since 1978, so pretty damning stuff. In Serie A, the Giallorossi currently sit in 12th place, with 13 points from 13 games – just three points above the relegation zone.

Despite this, their squad does contain dangermen that Spurs must be wary of. Of course, there is Paulo Dybala, who so nearly joined Spurs back in 2019. Striker Artem Dovbyk scored 24 goals for Girona in La Liga last season. France national team midfielder Manu Kone has been a rare bright spark in a poorly performing side so far this season.

In the Europa League, Roma currently sit in 20th place, with five points from their four games so far. They drew 1-1 at home to Basque side Athletic Club, before losing 1-0 away to Norwegian side Elfsborg. This was followed up by a 1-0 win at home to Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv, before a 1-1 draw at Belgian Pro League side USG.

So, during these four games, Roma have only managed to score three goals. In Serie A, they have only scored 14 goals in their 13 games so far. They have only created two fewer big chances (nine) in the Europa League than Spurs, so it seems that taking chances is a bigger issue than creating them in the first place. Ange’s side must be conscious of this.

Roma did look a bit more competitive in their first game under Ranieri away to Napoli on Sunday, but seriously struggled to create anything, and came undone to a goal by former striker Romelu Lukaku in a 1-0 defeat.