Preview: Roma vs FC Midtjylland - prediction, team news, lineups

After two false starts, Roma will try to post the first home win of their Europa League campaign when facing flawless FC Midtjylland on Thursday.

The Danish side still boast a 100% record in UEFA's second-tier tournament, putting them top of the table midway through this season's league phase.

Match preview

Last time out in Europe, Roma beat crisis club Rangers 2-0 at Ibrox, recording their second away win from two attempts as goals from Matias Soule and Lorenzo Pellegrini decided the game in their favour.

That saw them set an outright competition record of 99 Europa League victories, and they will seek a century this week. However, the Italian side only have six points on the board following a couple of missteps at Stadio Olimpico.

Though they started off with a 2-1 victory in Nice, the Giallorossi then missed the same penalty three times in a bizarre loss to Lille before suffering a shock defeat to Viktoria Plzen.

Those two failures were as many as Roma had recorded throughout their previous 38 UEFA home fixtures, of which they won 28 - the capital club have never lost three European home games in a row.

Coming into this contest, they sit just inside the playoff places, and a cherished top-eight finish remains up for grabs; recent form suggests the surprise Serie A leaders could yet push for automatic qualification.

Sunday's 3-1 defeat of Cremonese - featuring another goal from the increasingly influential Soule - made it three straight wins across all competitions for the team coached by 2024 Europa League winner Gian Piero Gasperini.

So, Roma are two points clear at the summit of Italy's top flight as they go toe-to-toe with the current Europa League leaders.

Midtjylland are the only side still boasting a perfect record, with four straight wins taking them top of the table on 12 points.

Outside of qualifying, that represents their best-ever run in continental competition, while the Danish club have also posted the most goals and shots on target so far.

Notably, Mike Tullberg's team have scored at least one set-piece strike in each match, including a comprehensive 3-1 home win over Celtic earlier this month, when Martin Erlic, Mikel Gogorza and Franculino were all on the scoresheet.

However, the Wolves were beaten in their most recent league fixture, going down 2-1 to Sonderjyske on Sunday: Philip Billing was sent off late in the second half before they lost to a 100th-minute penalty.

As a result, Midtjylland slipped to second in Denmark's Superliga, two points behind new leaders AGF Aarhus.

After seeing a 13-match streak without defeat finally ended, they will be keen to get straight back on track with victory at the iconic Olimpico.

Roma Europa League form:

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Roma form (all competitions):

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FC Midtjylland Europa League form:

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FC Midtjylland form (all competitions):

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Team News

As Roma will face potential Scudetto rivals Napoli at the weekend, Gasperini may have one eye on the Derby del Sole, for which Paulo Dybala and Leon Bailey could both return.

The two injury-prone forwards may be fit enough to feature on the bench in midweek, but Angelino and Artem Dovbyk are still ruled out.

In the latter's absence, Evan Ferguson is favourite to lead the hosts' attack, having finally ended his club goal drought on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Guinea-Bissau star Franculino has proved Midtjylland's most potent striker, scoring freely in the Superliga and notching three Europa League goals so far.

Both Billing and Croatian centre-back Erlic will return to Italy, where they represented Napoli and Bologna respectively.

Edward Chilufya and Adam Gabriel are still unavailable due to injury, while ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Ovie Ejeheri remains a doubt.

Roma possible starting lineup:

Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Ndicka; Wesley, Cristante, El Aynaoui, Tsimikas; Soule, Pellegrini; Ferguson

FC Midtjylland possible starting lineup:

Olafsson; Lee, Erlic, Bech; Mbabu, Billing, Castillo, Simsir; Cho, Osorio; Franculino

We say: Roma 2-1 FC Midtjylland

Having shown rare signs of frailty by dropping points in two of their last four matches, Europa League leaders Midtjylland may suffer another setback at Stadio Olimpico.

Well drilled by their vastly experienced coach, Roma are topping Serie A for a reason - and they are overdue a home win in Europe.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.