The hosts are heading into the match on the back of a dominant 4-0 Austrian Bundesliga win over Austria Lustenau on Saturday, while Roma were held to a 1-1 draw against Lecce in the Serie A, on the same day.
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The Europa League knockout round is set to go underway with Red Bull Salzburg playing host to AS Roma in the first leg of the playoff tie at Red Bull Arena Salzburg on Thursday evening. The hosts are heading into the match on the back of a dominant 4-0 Austrian Bundesliga win over Austria Lustenau on Saturday, while Roma were held to a 1-1 draw against Lecce in the Serie A, on the same day. The victory helped the Red Bulls to consolidate top spot in the Austrian top flight standings, having collected 42 points from 17 games, six clear of the chasing pack. The visitors, meanwhile, are sitting at the fourth position in the Italian top flight table, with 41 points to their name from 21 games.
💬 “We’ll have to be ready to fight…”
🎙️ Paulo Dybala ahead of #SalzburgRoma#ASRoma #UEL pic.twitter.com/PD93kQBIML
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) February 15, 2023
Salzburg were involved in the UEFA Champions League during the first half of the season, finishing third in Group E, behind Chelsea and AC Milan, to drop down to the Europa League round of 32 stage. Matthias Jaissle’s side were thrashed 4-0 in their final Champions League group stage game in November, which saw them getting eliminated from Europe’s top tournament. Meanwhile, the Austrian top flight resumed last week, following the long World Cup break. The Red Bulls thrashed Austria Lustenau on Saturday, thanks to Fernandeo’s brace and one goal each from Nicolas Seiwald and Nicolas Capaldo. Prior to that, Salzburg got eliminated from the Austrian Cup, courtesy of losing to Sturm Graz in penalties.
Roma, on the other hand, have recorded five wins from their last nine games across all competitions this year. Jose Mourinho’s side finished second in Group C, behind Real Betis, to earn a place in the playoffs. The Yellow and Reds came from behind to beat Ludogorets 3-1 in their final group match in November. Lorenzo Pellegrini scored a brace from the penalty spot before Nicolo Zaniolo’s late effort sealed the win for the Little Cubs and helped them progress to the playoff tie. Meanwhile, last time out, Mourinhos’s side shared the spoils away to Lecce in the Serie A despite taking the lead through Paulo Dybala’s 17th-minute penalty kick. The reigning Europa Conference League champions are definitely one of the favourites to go all the way in the Europa League this term, while the Austrian champions will be looking to cause an upset.
22-year-old Noah Okafor is likely to spearhead RB Salzburg’s attack, alongside Junior Adamu. Okafor is the club’s top scorer this season, having scored ten goals across all competitions. Roma, on the other hand, wil be without wing-back Leonardo Spinazzola, who is sidelined with a hamstring injury, while midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum is back after recovering from a broken leg. Dybala, who has recorded four goals and provided as many assists in his last seven outings, will join Pellegrini and Tammy Abraham in the attacking department.
RB Salzburg Probable line-up: Khn, dedic, Pavlovic, Solet, Ulmer, Gourna-Douath, Seiwald, Sucic, Kjaergaard, Okafor, Adamu
Roma probable line-up: Patricio, Mancini, Smalling, Ibanez, Celik, Tahirovic, Cristante, Zalewski, Pellegrini, Dybala, Abraham
RB Salzburg
| Opponents | Score |
| Lustenau | 4-0 (W) |
| Grazer | 3-4 (L) |
| Sturm Graz | 1(4)-(5)1 (L) |
| Slovan Bratislava | 1-0 (W) |
| Karlsruher SC | 3-0 (W) |
Roma
| Opponents | Score |
| Lecce | 1-1 (D) |
| Empoli | 2-0 (W) |
| Cremonese | 1-2 (L) |
| Napoli | 2-1 (L) |
| Spezia | 0-2 (W) |
The Europa League match between RB Salzburg and Roma will take place at Red Bull Arena Salzburg on Thursday at 11:15 pm IST.
| RB Salzburg vs Roma | Key Details |
| Date | February 16 |
| Venue | Red Bull Arena Salzburg |
| Kickoff time in Austria | 6:45 pm |
| Kickoff time in Italy | 6:45 pm |
| Kickoff time in India | 11:15 pm |
The live telecast of the Europa League match between RB Salzburg and Roma can be seen on Sky Sport Austria 2, RTL +, Servus TV, Sky Sport Austria 1 and servustv.com in Austria. Meanwhile, those in Italy can catch the live action via Sky Go italia, Sky Sport 252, DAZN, Sky Sport Uno and NOW TV.
