Astra v Roma background

Astra have the chance to claim second place in Group E as they conclude their group campaign at home to section winners Roma.

• Roma have 11 points and have clinched the group.

• Astra, with seven points, are two clear of third-placed Austria Wien. Astra are therefore through if they win, or if Austria fail to win away to eliminated Viktoria Plzeň. However, Austria will qualify if they win and Astra fail to do so, since Austria have an away goals head-to-head advantage over Astra should the pair finish level on points.

Previous meetings
• Roma beat Astra 4-0 on matchday two in what was the Romanian side's first encounter with Serie A opposition. It was Roma boss Luciano Spalletti's 100th UEFA club match as a coach.

• Roma's seven previous games against Romanian teams produced results of W4 D2 L1; they have yet to lose in Romania: W1 D2.

Form guide
• Astra have not won in four European home fixtures this season – three 1-1 draws and a 3-2 defeat – and picked up six of their seven Group E points on the road.

• Unbeaten in three European away matches this term (W1 D2), Roma have scored 15 goals in their last four Group E games.

• Astra were eliminated at the end of their only previous UEFA Europa League group stage campaign in 2014/15.

• Roma's success means they have progressed in all three of their UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage forays (2005/06, 2009/10 and 2016/17).

Links and trivia
• The journey from Rome to Astra's home town of Giurgiu is around 1,100km.

• Edin Džeko's hat-trick in Roma's 4-1 win against Plzeň on matchday five was his first in 67 UEFA club competition appearances (though he has scored two trebles in European Qualifiers for Bosnia and Heregovina – against Liechtenstein and Andorra).

• Džeko is one of three players to have hit five goals in this season's group stage, along with Anderlecht's Łukasz Teodorczyk and Zenit's Giuliano. Aritz Aduriz is currently top scorer with six.

• Roma, Fiorentina and Schalke lead the unluckiness leaderboard in the 2016/17 competition – all having struck the woodwork four times in their group games.

• Astra striker Denis Alibec played in Italy with Internazionale and Bologna (on loan) but made just three senior Serie A outings. He was on Inter's books at the same time as Roma defender Juan.

• Romanian goalkeeper Bogdan Lobonţ is still under contract at Roma, but the 38-year-old has not made a senior appearance since 2013 and was not included in their UEFA Europa League squad.

The coaches
• Marius Șumudică steered Astra to a maiden Romanian title in 2015/16, having previously won the league as a player with Rapid Bucureşti in 1998/99. He played in Portugal, Hungary and Cyprus as a striker, and has coached in Greece and the United Arab Emirates.

• Luciano Spalletti returned to Roma in January after five years in Russia with Zenit, where he claimed two league championships. He lifted the Coppa Italia twice with Roma from 2005–09, having made his name leading unfancied Udinese to fourth place in Serie A in 2004/05.

Chapecoense commemoration
Teams taking part in all of the matchday six UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League fixtures will observe a minute's silence to pay respect to the victims of last week's air disaster involving the Chapecoense team and accompanying delegation.

The Brazilian club lost most of their players and coaching staff in the accident, which occurred in Colombia, where Chapecoense were due to play the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final against Atlético Nacional.

"European football is united in expressing its deepest sympathy to Chapecoense, the Brazilian Football Confederation [CBF], CONMEBOL and the families of all the victims," said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin. "This tragedy has shaken the world of football, and we would like to send our support to all of those affected by it."