Leicester vs Roma Europa Conference League semi-final first-leg preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, predicted line-ups
Thursday, April 28, 2022
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When is it? How can you watch? What are the possible line-ups? All you need to know about the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final first leg between Leicester and Roma.
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Leicester and Roma meet in their UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final first leg on Thursday 28 April.
Leicester vs Roma at a glance
When: Thursday 28 April (21:00 CET kick-off)
Where: Leicester City Stadium, Leicester
What: UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final first leg (second leg on 5 May)
How to follow: Build-up and live coverage will appear here
Where to watch Leicester vs Roma on TV
Fans can find their local UEFA Europa Conference League broadcast partner(s) here.
What do you need to know?
Nicolò Zaniolo scored a hat-trick as Roma dominated last-eight rivals Bodø/Glimt at the Stadio Olimpico to overturn a first-leg deficit and set up only their sixth semi-final in UEFA competition. Next up, and hoping to bar their way to the Tirana showpiece, will be a Leicester side they have never faced before.
José Mourinho's men "will take the flag of Italy" to the East Midlands, where Brendan Rodgers' in-form charges await. However, the Foxes left it late to see off PSV in their quarter-final decider, with an 88th-minute Ricardo Pereira strike required to complete their comeback and guarantee their first-ever European semi-final.
Starting line-ups
Leicester: Schmeichel; Ricardo Pereira, Fofana, Evans, Justin; Maddison, Tielemans, Dewsbury-Hall; Lookman, Vardy, Barnes
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: none
Roma: Rui Patrício; Mancini, Smalling, Ibañez; Karsdorp, Cristante, Sérgio Oliveira, Pellegrini, Zalewski; Zaniolo, Abraham
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: none
Away goals rule abolished
There has been a rule change for 2021/22: ties level after the second leg will go to extra time and a penalty shoot-out if required, irrespective of the number of away goals a team has scored.
Form guide
Leicester
Form (all competitions, most recent first): DDLWWD
Where they stand: 10th in English Premier League
Roma
Form: LDWWLW
Where they stand: 5th in Italian Serie A
Expert predictions
Joe Terry, Leicester reporter
European games allowed Brendan Rodgers to rotate his squad earlier in the season, but since the Conference League now represents the only chance of silverware for the Foxes, we can expect Leicester to field their strongest side, as they did against PSV Eindhoven in the quarter-finals. Star striker Jamie Vardy is fit again and will probably start, which is good news for Leicester, who will hope to travel to Rome for the return leg with a healthy lead.
Francesco Corda, Roma reporter
A weekend loss against Inter ended Roma's 12-match unbeaten run in Serie A (W7 D5). For the first leg of the semi-final, coach José Mourinho should welcome back Bryan Cristante and Nicolò Zaniolo (both absent at San Siro on Saturday) and field the same team that ended Bodø/Glimt's campaign at the Stadio Olimpico two weeks ago.
What the coaches say
Brendan Rodgers, Leicester manager: "When you come away and you see the teams we've played against and the four teams left you see it’s a prestigious competition. To get to the final, we will have to work really hard. Roma have a great manager and fantastic players, so we will have to be at our best. We want to perform and it should be an incredible atmosphere and the crowd can really help us bring our performance and tempo."
José Mourinho, Roma coach: "I think that, based on the hard work we've put in this season to improve and to get to this stage, we deserve to reach the final. Sometimes football rewards that hard work, but we have to face a great side."
Where is the 2022 Europa Conference League final?
Tirana's Arena Kombëtare will stage the final on Wednesday 25 May.
The winners gain a place in the 2022/23 UEFA League group stage, if they have not qualified via their domestic competition.