Key events
19 min: Maybe time for Brighton to go against their instincts and dig in but Gross and Gilmour try to set up an attack but take too many risks, and concede the ball.
17 min: Roma look really rather good here. Lots of attacking options, and some real experience within the team. Old-style European outfit.
15 min: That’s a sickener for Brighton, and Lamptey will take the blame for not being alert enough. It was a high line, and they were cut open by Paredes’ pass. You don’t see many goals from last man to striker, do you?
Goal! Roma 1-0 Brighton (Dybala, 13)
Roma have the ball in the net. Dybala goes beyond Steele, and slots. The offside flag is very very late. Was Lamptey playing him on? VAR is called upon. Oh, this is tight. And it’s a goal. Dybala scored, having run right through the gate.
11 min: An outbreak of cool, though Paredes has to play back to his keeper as Brighton press very high. They haven’t come to soak up pressure.
9 min: Relentless. Pellegrini – such a good player – goes on a charge and Brighton hurriedly clear their lines. This has been excellent. All hail the Europa League. Keep it up, lads.
7 min: Brighton take the opportunity to pass the ball around, only for Lamptey to be unable to reach a ball played out wide. They’ve done well, and suddenly Adingra makes his move inwards off the left, and his shot deflects off the post. This is some game so far. Champions League? Yer avin’ a laff.
5 min: Steele makes an error in playing out, and Roma’s high press is causing havoc. Lukaku shoots wide. It looks like the bright, alert Lukaku is with us tonight. That’s a bad sign for Brighton.
4 min: It was Roma attacking at pace there, a huge warning for Brighton. From the corner, Lukaku climbs above Dunk for a second time, and Dybala can’t keep the ball down.
3 min: Can Brighton set into a rhythm? Their game is based on speeding away at pace. Mitoma will be missed, mind you…..and Jason Steele has to make a save from Romelu Lukaku after Spinazzola’s cross. Tipped over. Wow.
1 min: And away we go in Rome. The home team begin with some possession as the home choir makes a hell of a noise.
Boos from the Roma fans for the Europa League anthem: “woah woah, woah woah woah woah wo”. You know the one.
Now comes their club anthem called, amazingly: Roma Roma Roma.
Here comes the night, a huge one for fans of Brighton & Hove Albion: it’s a long way since the Withdean as they enter the Stadio Olimpico.
Roma are in reasonable nick, much better than under Jose Mourinho. Since he was sacked, they’ve lost just once, and that was to runaway leaders Inter. The goals have been flying in, too. They were ninth when De Rossi came in.
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Six changes to the Brighton team from the side that lost 3-0 to Fulham on Saturday. Up front it’s Danny Welbeck, with Evan Ferguson benched. Simon Adingra and key midfielder Pascal Gross are in, as are Billy Gilmour, Facundo Buonanotte and centre-back Igor.
Decent attacking lineup from Roma: Romelu Lukaku alongside Paulo Dybala and Stephan El Shaarawy. Chris Smalling is on the bench.
Ed Aarons is our man in the Eternal City, keeping safe, we hope. Here’s his preview.
No matter that Brighton have gone three games without a win and come into the Europa League last‑16 tie with several absences through injury including their star winger Kaoru Mitoma. It is their manager who is the visitors’ main attraction, although De Zerbi rejected his opposite number Daniele De Rossi’s description of him as “a genius” when he held court at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday evening.
Some good news on the stabbed fans.
The teams
Roma: Svilar, Celik, Mancini, N’Dicka, Spinazzola, Cristante, Paredes, Pellegrini, Dybala, Lukaku, El Shaarawy. Subs: Rui Patricio, Karsdorp, Smalling, Llorente, Azmoun, Sanches, Aouar, Baldanzi, Bove, Zalewski, Boer, Angelino.
Brighton: Steele, Lamptey, van Hecke, Dunk, Igor, Gilmour, Gross, Adingra, Enciso, Buonanotte, Welbeck. Subs: Verbruggen, Webster, Lallana, Moder, Baleba, Ferguson, Estupinan, Fati, Veltman, McGill, Peupion, Baker-Boaitey.
Referee: Francois Letexier (France)
Preamble
These are the types of fixtures Brighton dreamed of, the likes of Roma. Though understandable fears, too, considering what befell those two fans on Wednesday night. Let’s hope the night can pass off without further violence. Roberto de Zerbi, currently one of his country’s prime coaching exports, has something to prove to the locals. Look at these words from his pre-match press conference: “One day I will go back to Italy. I don’t know when it will come. But when I made the choice to go to Shakhtar I did it because I wanted to find a way outside Italy. Without going into too many details, there were some things in Italy I didn’t like. I decided to do something else.” So expect Brighton, who were well beaten by Fulham at the weekend, be sent out with some fire behind them. Daniele de Rossi is the club legend who has revived Roma after their dalliance with Jose Mourinho.
Kick-off is 5.45pm GMT. Join me.