Brighton V Roma Match Preview

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Brighton will play the second leg of their Europa League tie against Roma at the AMEX on Thursday night, after losing the first meeting 4-0 last week. Report by Joe Zelinger 

With Brighton all but out of the tournament, a huge performance is required if the Seagulls want to keep their European journey going this season. It is set to be possibly the biggest game ever played at the AMEX, however, the anticipation has significantly lowered since Brighton first learnt they would take on Roma when the draw was made in February. 

After last Thursday’s disappointing result in the Italian capital, Roberto de Zerbi’s men were able to bounce back at the first time of asking, defeating Nottingham Forest 1-0 on Sunday afternoon. This extended Brighton’s unbeaten run at home in the league to 12 games, winning six and drawing six. 

This record at home is a good omen for Thursday’s game, however, Brighton are required to score four goals with no reply at a minimum, rather than just avoiding defeat. Although, in two of their last three wins at home, the Seagulls have managed to score four goals. 

For this seemingly impossible task, Brighton are without the same players as last time, with Joao Pedro, Solly March, Jack Hinshelwood and Kaoru Mitoma all remaining sidelined. James Milner’s injury was said to be fully recovered by now, but his fitness status is still unclear. Fortunately for de Zerbi, no new injuries occurred from Sunday’s game against Forest. 

Roma will arrive on the south coast having kept their good run of form going on the weekend with a 2-2 draw away at Fiorentina. Daniele de Rossi’s side scored a 95th minute equaliser to ensure a vital point in their race for European football. 

The Italian side were just too good for Brighton last week, and will believe they’ve done enough to secure their place in the quarter-finals. However, a professional performance is still expected from the away side, similar to last week where they seemed to have that European knowhow which Brighton lacked. 

Roma will remain without Rick Karsdorp and Tammy Abraham for the trip to England. New absentees since last time out will include Renato Sanches with a muscle issue, and Chris Smalling who has picked up an ankle injury. 

Brighton have won their last two European home games, both against top European opposition in Marseille and Ajax. This bodes well for Thursday, but with such a mountain to climb after the result in the first leg, it is hard to see Roma capitulating in such a way. To add to this, no side has managed to overturn a four-goal deficit in Europa league history. 

It is a shame Brighton haven’t given themselves much of a chance to go through in front of their own fans, because they’ve been great in the competition up until this tie. Roma were favourites before the first leg, but it would have been an even more momentous occasion for the Seagulls to have played such a big game in their own ground with a better chance of going through than they have. 

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Prediction: Brighton 2-2 Roma.

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