With a 2-1 lead to their name, Roma face Trabzonspor in the Europa Conference League at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday (kick-off: 19:00 CEST), and we have all the pre-match preamble you need ahead of the play-off second leg.

TRABZONSPOR

League position: 2nd
Head coach: Abdullah Avci
Top-scorer: Anthony Nwakaeme (3)

RECENT FORM

Roma: W L W W W
Trabzonspor: D W W L W

The Giallorossi made it two wins from two in competitive football under Jose Mourinho, backing up their 2-1 first-leg victory over Thursday’s visitors by brushing Fiorentina aside 3-1 in their opening Serie A fixture of 2021-22.

It’s a promising start to life under the Portuguese tactician, who is looking to add the inaugural Europa League Conference trophy to his previous Champions League, UEFA Cup and Europa League glories in Europe.

Last Thursday’s defeat was the Turkish side’s first loss of the season, having edged past Norwegian outfit Molde in the previous round and chalked up back-to-back Super Lig victories.

It leaves Avci’s team - who finished fourth in the Turkish top-flight last term - sitting second domestically, but up against it thanks to Roma’s advantage, albeit one that won’t be bolstered by their two away goals following UEFA’s recent changes to continental competition.

Possible Trabzonspor line-up

(4-3-3)

Cakir; Peres, Le, Hugo, Koybasi; Bakasetas, Ozdemir, Hamsik; Gervinho, Cornelius, Nwakaeme

DANGER MAN
Anthony Nwakaeme

Trabzonspor’s 32-year-old winger has found the back of the net three times in five appearances so far this season and the Nigeria international has been somewhat of a talisman for his side since joining the club in 2018.

He has since struck 35 times and laid on 30 assists for his teammates in 114 appearances and his experience will be invaluable as his side aim to overturn their first-leg deficit.

Quick, strong and skillful, Nwakaeme is expected to operate from the left, where he will look to cut in on his favoured right foot at almost every opportunity.

Between him, former Roma man Gervinho, Djaniny and Andreas Cornelius, there is plenty of attacking threat in this Trabzonspor side.

MATCH STATS

The first-leg was the very first meeting between these two sides in their history.

In total, Roma have faced Turkish opposition on 13 occasions, claiming eight wins, three draws and losing just twice.

Meanwhile, Trabzonspor’s record against Italian opposition isn’t as impressive and reads: P17, W3, D5, L9.

Roma haven’t lost at home in Europe since 27 November 2018, when they lost 2-0 to Real Madrid. From their 12 matches since, they have won eight European fixtures at the Olimpico and drawn four times.

PLAYER STATS

• Mourinho has won 109 of his 197 European matches as a head coach, with his win percentage standing at 55.3 per cent and his loss rate only 22.8%.
  
• As well as Mourinho, Roma have five players in their first-team squad with a winners’ medal from European club competition. Tammy Abraham won the Champions League last season, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Chris Smalling (both Europa League, Manchester United) and Davide Santon (UCL, Inter Milan) all clinched continental glory under Mourinho. Borja Mayoral (UCL, Real Madrid) completes the group among the active first-team squad, while Matias Vina lifted South America’s Copa Libertadores in 2019-20.
  
• Eldor Shomurodov has featured just twice in European competition but has scored in both appearances, adding last week’s first goal for Roma to his previous effort in 2020-21 UEL qualifying for FK Rostov.
  
• Bruno Peres and Gervinho are two former Giallorossi players in the Trabzonspor ranks, racking up 120 Roma appearances and 32 goals between them.

WHAT THEY SAID

“Jose Mourinho’s teams play the best defence in the world. They’re good transition teams. Roma is a good team, their coaches are good coaches. It was a good game and we congratulate them, too. There are lessons to be learned from here.”

- Trabzonspor coach, Abdullah Avci