Analysis | Andy Brassell's bitesize European preview | AS Roma

One of the voices of European football on talkSPORT and Sky Sports, well known for The Football Ramble podcast and a writer for The Guardian - and a regular contributor here at Spurs for almost 10 years - Andy Brassell will give us a short, sharp view on our opposition ahead of every UEFA Europa League match this season.

Next up, Italian giants AS Roma - UEFA Conference League winners in 2022 - make the trip from the Eternal City to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for MD5 on Thursday evening (8pm UK).

AS Roma (Italy)

Manager - Claudio Ranieri
Domestic form - 12th in Serie A, one win in their last 7
Europa League form - 20th after 4 matches (1-1 vs Athletic Club; 0-1 vs Elfsborg; 1-0 vs Dynamo Kiev; 1-1 vs Union SG)

Andy: "It’s fair to say it’s been a bit chaotic at Roma. They are on their third coach of the season, and Claudio Ranieri is back at the age of 73. Daniele De Rossi was fired after four games and the supporters never really took to Ivan Juric, mainly because they were so upset that De Rossi, a legendary figure at the club, was fired. It's difficult to say how they're going to play because they've only had one game under Ranieri and, at Napoli at the weekend, as you would expect, they looked way more organised and united than they had done for a while, and defensively, very solid, albeit in a 1-0 defeat. Mats Hummels played all of the second half when they switched from a back four to a three, and Ranieri has strongly hinted that Hummels, who, apart from that, had played a bit of the second half when they were thrashed at Fiorentina, and not much more, will be an important player for him going forward. He was great in the Champions League last season, and played a huge part in Borussia Dortmund’s run to the final. Artem Dovbyk is who they’ll be relying on for goals, but it's who they play around him that’s really the question. They still have Paulo Dybala, although they’ve kind of nursed him through the season. He can win them games on his own, but he doesn't always get the opportunity to because of fitness issues. Maybe it will be a busy night for goalkeeper Mile Svilar, who was the big winner of the De Rossi period. De Rossi brought him in to replace Rui Patricio, who left in the summer. You might remember, Svilar made his debut in the Champions League as a teenager for Benfica and famously conceded an own goal against Manchester United where he caught an innocuous free-kick and stepped backwards over his own line. He was comforted after that game by Romelu Lukaku and, in a twist of fate, they ended up being team-mates at Roma last season. When Rossi was fired, Svilar, who’s been brilliant, thanked him for everything. I’m guessing it will be something fairly defensive under Ranieri. He’s a ‘belt and braces’ manager who makes sure his teams do the basics. Roma haven’t conceded that many goals in the Europa League anyway, despite the performances being very up and down. I saw them at Union Saint-Gilloise in the last match (a 1-1 draw) and they weren’t great... in fact, they threw away the opportunity to win that game. They're in a weaker position in the group stage than Spurs, but because Ranieri is still searching for stability, I wouldn't imagine they'll be too gung-ho at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, even though they could really do with the win."