Sheriff – Roma

Romans fail to get an easy win over the Moldovan champions

The opponents for the game in Tiraspol have been drawn in Group G, where their opponents will also be Servette and Slavia Prague. The Roman club looks the clear favourite here, but Jose Mourinho's pragmatism and rationalism will definitely result in his team putting in exactly as much effort in the group stage as they need to get to the play-offs. If Mourinho has to lose a couple of matches to keep his players strong in favour of Serie A, he will definitely do it. Sheriff started their journey in the European tournaments of the current season as the Moldovan champions in the Champions League qualification. In both of their duels in qualifying for the elite continental tournament, Sheriff went to extra time. If in the case of Farul, he managed to squeeze the opponent, Maccabi Haifa became an insurmountable obstacle for the Tiraspol players. Having travelled to the final stage of Europa League qualification, Sheriff faced a rather uncomfortable opponent - Faroese Klaksvik. After a draw on the road, the Moldovan champion minimally beat the opponent at home. Bookmakers have identified the guests of the upcoming meeting as favourites, offering odds of 1.49 on their victory. In parallel with the busy qualification of European tournaments, Sheriff played in the championship of Moldova. In the five starting rounds, the champion lost only the meeting with Milsami, which took place in the days of the most heated rivalry with Klaksvik. In the other meetings, the dominance of the Tiraspol team was unquestionable. The season before last, Roma triumphed in the first ever Conference League, and last season they were defeated in the Europa League final. In the off-season, Mourinho managed to conduct a spot transfer campaign, during which Roma rented and signed for free several good players, including Romelu Lukaku. In Serie A, Roma have managed to play four games, becoming one of the worst clubs to start the Italian football season. Only last Sunday, Roma managed to get their first win, defeating Empoli 7-0. Of course, Roma are superior to the Moldovan champions in terms of player selection, but the hosts are unlikely to give their opponents points for nothing.