Old rivalries stir as Fulham host Roma

Claudio Ranieri will be hoping that his good record against Fulham FC – and their manager Roy Hodgson – will count for something as AS Roma visit Fulham FC in UEFA Europa League Group E, seeking a first competitive win in London.

Previous meetings
• The teams have never met. Fulham won their only previous home game against Serie A opposition, while Roma have been victorious just once in 13 games in England – 1-0 at Liverpool FC in a UEFA Cup fourth round game on 22 February 2001.

Match background
• Fulham have yet to lose a home encounter after ten UEFA club competition fixtures, with five of those held at Craven Cottage and five at Loftus Road, home of west London rivals Queens Park Rangers FC.

• Roma's three trips to London in UEFA club competition have ended in two defeats and a 1-1 draw.

• Roma's game against Fulham comes a year to the day since their last visit to the English capital, when they lost 1-0 to the Cottagers' local rivals Chelsea FC in the UEFA Champions League group stage. John Terry scored the only goal, on 22 October 2008.

Team facts
• Vastly experienced Fulham trainer Roy Hodgson has coached the Swiss and Finnish national teams, and has plenty of experience of Italian football from two stints as FC Internazionale Milano coach in the mid-to-late 1990s and a later spell with Udinese Calcio.

• Hodgson's Inter took on Roma five times during his days in Serie A, winning three games, drawing one and losing the other. His Udinese side drew 1-1 with Roma in 2001.

• Despite great early season results in Europe, Luciano Spalletti quit as Roma coach after starting the Serie A campaign with back-to-back defeats and Ranieri was installed as his successor. The 57-year-old began his playing career as a defender at Roma – his hometown club – but earned his reputation as a coach with ACF Fiorentina, Valencia CF, Chelsea and Juventus, among others.

• While at Chelsea, from 18 September 2000 to 31 May 2004, Ranieri led his side in seven games against Fulham (six in the league and one in the FA Cup), earning the record W4 D3 L0. Those meetings included two wins and two draws at Craven Cottage.

• The two coaches came face-to-face six times during Hodgson's first spell at Inter, when Ranieri was coaching Fiorentina. The Viola drew 1-1 at home and won 2-1 at San Siro in the 1995/96 Serie A campaign and also knocked the Nerazzurri out of the Coppa Italia semi-finals that season, winning 3-1 in Florence and 1-0 in the second leg in Milan. The sides then drew twice the following season, meaning Ranieri has won three of his encounters with Hodgson, with three matches drawn.

• Fulham's Danny Murphy and Roma's John Arne Riise were team-mates at Liverpool FC from 2001 to 2004. Both were in the sides that drew 0-0 with the Giallorossi at the Stadio Olimpico and won 2-0 at Anfield in the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League second group stage.

• Roma's Júlio Baptista also played in England, with Arsenal FC from 2006 to 2007.

• Fulham's Senegalese striker Diomansy Kamara plied his trade in Italy with another of Ranieri's old clubs, FC Catanzaro (1999-01), as well as AC Chievo Verona (2001) and Modena FC (2001-04).

• Roma's Doni celebrates his 30th birthday on the day of the match.

• Fulham's Simon Davies celebrates his own 30th birthday the day after.

• The two teams meet again in Rome on 5 November for Matchday 4.