Brighton Boss De Zerbi Returns to Italy to Face Roma in Europa League
Albion Hope to Overturn First-Leg Deficit
Brighton face a daunting task when they travel to Rome on Thursday to face AS Roma in the second leg of their Europa League last 16 tie.
The Seagulls trail 2-1 from the first leg at the Amex Stadium, meaning they need to score at least twice in the Italian capital to stand any chance of progressing.
Manager Roberto De Zerbi knows all about Roma, having spent three years in charge of their bitter rivals Sassuolo before taking over at Brighton in September.
The former Shakhtar Donetsk boss will be hoping his inside knowledge can help Brighton pull off an upset, although he knows it will be a tough ask.
“Roma are a great team,” said De Zerbi. “They have a lot of quality, especially in attack. We need to be very careful, but we also need to believe in ourselves.
“We can create problems for them if we play our best. We need to be brave, we need to be aggressive, and we need to take our chances.
“It’s going to be a difficult game, but we’re not here just to make up the numbers. We believe we can win.
Brighton will be without suspended midfielder Moises Caicedo for the match, while De Zerbi is also sweating on the fitness of Leandro Trossard, who missed the first leg with a groin injury.
However, the Seagulls will be boosted by the return of Marc Cucurella, who sat out the first leg due to illness.
Roma, meanwhile, will be hoping to continue their good form. The Giallorossi have won their last three games in all competitions, including a 1-0 victory over Juventus in the Serie A last weekend.
Manager Jose Mourinho is likely to make changes to his team for the match, with Nicolo Zaniolo and Paulo Dybala pushing for starts.
The match will be played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome and will kick-off at 8pm GMT.
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