Sheriff Tiraspol will host AS Roma for the opening game of the 2023/24 Europa League season. It’s been a different start to the season for both teams and this game could spur either of them to great things.
Sheriff have gone about their business quite early this campaign They are the Moldovan champions having won the league and cup double last campaign. Sheriff season started in July due to the UEFA Champions League qualifiers. They labored past Farul Constanta (3-1 on aggregate) in the first round before being dumped to the Europa League by Israeli side Maccabi Haifa (4-2 on aggregate).
On the home front, Luvannnor’s solitary strike earned them an opening weekend win over Petro Club to kickstart the new season. The First Europa League game was next against Bate Borisov at Stadionul Sheriff which ended in a 5-1 home win. The return leg ended in a 2-2 draw as they marched on to the final qualifying round.
Back-to-back league wins over Sparta Selemet and Dacia Buiucani followed before they picked a draw at Klaskvik in the first leg of their final Europa League qualifier. First defeat of the season was handed to Sheriff by Milsami, but they recovered in time to beat Klaksvik to book their spot in this season’s Europa Group Stages.
As for AS Roma, it has been another tough start to the new season. Jose Mourinho’s side played out a 2-2 draw with Salernitana in their Serie A opener before suffering back-to-back defeats to Hellas Verona and Milan.
During the course of the first three games, they have missed talisman Paulo Dybala and upon his return to the side against Empoli at Stadio Olimpico, it was a different ball game entirely. The World Cup winner showed his class, scored two goals, and combined well with Romelu Lukaku throughout the fixture. That result could lift the mood of the side and steer them towards achieving great things in this campaign.
The 7-0 win for Roma matches the eight previous 7-0 wins that teams have managed in Serie A since the competition started with three points for a win in 1994.
One of those also came at the Stadio Olimpico in November 2006, when Roma ran riot against Catania, under the tutelage of current Italy manager, Luciano Spalletti.
On the other hand, Sheriff also had a similar preparation for this clash as they defeated Floresti 5-1 at the weekend. Luvannor mercurial midfielder Amine Talal both scored in the game.
This is the second successive appearance in the Europa League for Sheriff. It will be recalled that AS Roma played in the final last season where they lost to Sevilla on penalties. With that in mind, they are one of the favourites to win the competition, despite their poor start to the season.
This will be the pair’s first-ever meeting in any European competition and many fans would love to see this game. On paper, the Italians have a better squad and have enough experience in this competition to outfox their hosts. Given what Roma did before the Empoli rout, Sheriff Tiraspol will approach this game with a lot of confidence and hope that they can get something from this encounter.
Match tickets
The epic match at Stadionul Sheriff in Tiraspol kicks off on Thursday 21st September, at 5:45 PM UK time and it will be shown live on TNT Sports, with coverage starting from around 5 PM.
This is a Europa League clash between one European giant and another team trying to impress in the competition. Wednesday night is another special one in Moldova and Roma fans should be vocal in this game.Â
Getting tickets for the Sheriff Tiraspol vs AS Roma match tickets could take a lot of work to get, given the standard of this game and the size of the stadium. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.Â
Team news
Line-ups
Amine Tamal was crucial for them in the Champions League and Europa League qualifiers. He even grabbed a goal at the weekend, he could get a start here. Artunduaga, who has played 90% of Sheriff’s games this season, also scored at the weekend. Veteran Ricardinho is back for another stint and they will be counting on his experience in this fixture. Meanwhile, Abou Ouattara is a long-term absentee.
Sheriff Tiraspol: Koval; Zohouri, Garananga, Tovar, Artunduaga; Fernandez, Kik; Ricardinho, Henrique, Badolo.
Roma got their first win of the Serie A season over the weekend and significant changes are expected in order to build momentum for the coming days. Dybala and Lukaku, who shared three goals among themselves at the weekend, should continue their partnership in attack. Defender Chris Smalling, striker Tammy Abraham, and Marash Kumbulla will miss the trip to Moldova.
AS Roma: Patricio; Mancini, Llorente, Ndicka; Nissen, Cristante, Paredes, Sanchez, Spinazzola; Dybala, Lukaku.
Prediction
Sheriff Tiraspol, who lost twice to Inter Milan in the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League season, have won all six games played at home, scoring five goals in three of the last four. They also make quick starts in their home games as they have scored before the halftime break in all six home outings.
Roma, coupled with their poor start to the season, have failed to score in their last four away Europa League matches. In total, the Giallorossi have just one win from their previous eight away matches. Meanwhile, five of Roma’s last six Europa League matches were goalless at half-time.
Luvannor has four goals to his name this season for Sheriff Tiraspol and he was crucial to their run to this group stage. For Roma, Bryan Cristante contributed three goals in the game against Empoli, while Dybala grabbed a brace ahead of this trip to Moldova.
Sheriff Tiraspol 1-3 AS Roma
