After a thumping 4-0 win against Villarreal in the first leg of their Europa League's round-of-32 clash, Roma are huge favourites to reach the next round of the competition. The two teams are set to meet in the second leg at Stadio Olimpico on Thursday (February 23).
St-Etienne vs Manchester United highlights
To be honest, it is more than an uphill task for Villarreal to come back from such a disastrous first leg at home. However, Villarreal should not lose heart as surprising things have happened in the beautiful game.
Villarreal were completely outplayed in the first leg and they conceded goals too easily, leading to such a difficult situation for the club. No matter what, Villarreal will make sure that they give it their all in the contest. Defender Jaume Costa has still not given up hope, as he believes they can still make a comeback despite the enormous task.
"People may not believe that we can make a comeback, but we must believe we can, go out there 100% and attempt it. It's very difficult, practically impossible, but we must believe that we can pull it back and go out there and try to do that, and get rid of the bad feelings left from the first leg," Villarreal's official website quoted Costa as saying.
If Villarreal are to make the match interesting, they need to fire on all cylinders from the first minute, and at least score two goals early on to keep their hopes alive without conceding a goal.
It goes without saying – Roma are favourites, but the home team's manager Luciano Spalleti is not taking anything for granted as the game can prove anybody wrong and history is witness to it.
"It will be tough if we don't focus correctly, but the dressing room is aware of the situation. If you look at the history of football, it's clear to see that extraordinary results do happen. Think back to the tie between AC Milan and Deportivo La Coruna, when the Rossoneri lost the return leg 4-0," Roma's official website quoted the manager as saying.
"And how many incredible turnarounds do you see between the first and second halves of a game? As I've said, the dressing room is aware that we need to be winning matches and training hard."
With players like Edin Dzeko, Francesco Totti, Stephan El Shaarawy, Kevin Strootman, Radja Nainggolan among other star players in their ranks, and with Roma playing at home, they will be hoping to put that game beyond Villarreal's reach in the first half itself.
Where to watch live
The Europa League clash between Roma vs Villarreal is schedule for 6 pm GMT, 11:30pm IST, 1 pm EST). Here are live-streaming options:
Where to watch live
India: TV: Ten 2. Live streaming: Ten Sports live.
Spain: TV: beIN Sports. Live streaming: beIN Sports Connect.
ITALY: TV: Sky Calcio 1, Sky Sport 1 HD Italia. Live streaming: Sky Go Italia.
UK: TV: BT Sport Extra. Live streaming: BT Sport live.
USA: TV: ESPN Deportes. Live streaming: Fox Sports Go, Watch ESPN.
Live Score: Europa League official website
