Roma v Borussia Mönchengladbach facts

The Stadio Olimpico in Rome is the venue as two clubs with eventful European histories go head to head for the first time, with Roma holding a three-point advantage over Borussia Mönchengladbach in Group J.

• Roma made a dynamic start to the section, overpowering İstanbul Başakşehir 4-0 at home on the opening night, but they dropped two points in their next fixture, drawing 1-1 at Wolfsberg. Gladbach struck late to salvage a 1-1 draw in Turkey following their shock 0-4 defeat at home to the Austrian debutants on Matchday 1.

Previous meetings
• Although the clubs have never met, both have plenty of UEFA competition experience against clubs from their opponents' country.

• This is Roma's 27th fixture against German opposition. They have won ten of the previous 26 (D2 L14), eight at home, most recently 3-2 against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League group stage. A year earlier in the same competition they suffered their heaviest home European defeat, going down 7-1 to Bayern München.

• Mönchengladbach have won more games than they have lost against Italian sides (W5 D7 L4), their three away wins including a memorable 4-2 comeback success at Fiorentina, featuring a rapid-fire Lars Stindl hat-trick, on their most recent visit – in the second leg of the 2016/17 UEFA Europa League round of 32 (aggregate 4-3). They did, however, go out to Roma's local rivals Lazio at the same stage of the competition four years earlier, a 3-3 home draw preceding a 2-0 defeat at the Stadio Olimpico.

Form guide
Roma
• Roma finished sixth in last season's Serie A, missing out on UEFA Champions League qualification for the first time in six years. They were defeated 4-3 on aggregate after extra time by Porto in the 2018/19 round of 16 having reached the previous season's semi-finals.

• This is the Giallorossi's fifth participation in the UEFA Europa League proper but only their third appearance in the group stage. They have won their group on both previous occasions, in 2009/10 and 2016/17, reaching the round of 16 in the latter campaign.

• Roma are 13 games unbeaten in the UEFA Europa League group stage (W8 D5) and have won six and drawn one of the seven games at home, scoring at least twice in each of them. Furthermore, the Giallorossi have scored four goals in five of their last 12 matches in the competition. A 0-2 defeat against holders Real Madrid in last season's UEFA Champions League is the only one of their last 12 European fixtures that they have lost in the Italian capital, winning ten.

Mönchengladbach
• A fifth-placed finish in the 2018/19 German Bundesliga booked a starting berth for Mönchengladbach in the UEFA Europa League group stage, returning the club to European competition after a two-season absence.

• Gladbach qualified from both of their previous UEFA Europa League groups, in 2012/13 and 2014/15, before going out each time in the round of 32. Having crossed over from the UEFA Champions League midway through the 2016/17 season, they made it third time lucky in that round with that spectacular comeback against Fiorentina before going out on away goals in an all-German round of 16 tie with Schalke (1-1 a, 2-2 h).

• The Foals are unbeaten in seven away matches in the UEFA Europa League group stage (W2 D5). Their last European away win was that 4-2 success at Fiorentina.

Links and trivia 
• Roma's Edin Džeko was a prolific Bundesliga marksman with Wolfsburg from 2011 to 2014, scoring 66 goals in 111 games, becoming a German champion in 2008/09 and the league's top scorer, with 22 goals, the following season. In his five Bundesliga matches against Mönchengladbach (W4 D1) he scored three goals and provided one assist.

• Henrikh Mkhitaryan played for Borussia Dortmund between 2013 and 2016, scoring 23 goals in 90 Bundesliga outings. In his five appearances against Gladbach (W3 L2) he registered three goals and one assist.

The coaches
• Paulo Fonseca was appointed as the new Roma head coach on 11 June 2019. He arrived in the Eternal City having won the Ukrainian league and cup double in each of his three seasons with Shakhtar Donetsk, where he had replaced the long-serving Mircea Lucescu in 2016. A central defender of modest repute, he paid his dues as a coach in his native Portugal, first making his mark at Paços de Ferreira then joining Porto in 2013 before winning his first major trophy, the 2015/16 Portuguese Cup, with Braga.

• Marco Rose replaced Dieter Hecking as Mönchengladbach's new head coach for the 2019/20 season. He arrived as an Austrian double winner and two-time champion with Salzburg, having also led the club to victory in the 2016/17 UEFA Youth League. A defender with home-town club VfB Leipzig, Hannover and Mainz, he spent six years on Salzburg's coaching staff and masterminded a run to the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League semi-finals during his debut campaign as head coach. Last season he led Salzburg into the round of 16.

FootballPeople weeks
The FootballPeople weeks take place from 10 to 24 October 2019 and are organised by UEFA's social responsibility partner Fare. The weeks are a global campaign aimed at tackling discrimination and celebrating diversity in football. The UEFA Europa League is offering its full support to the FootballPeople weeks; teams will line up for a mixed photo with the referees, while an #EqualGame hashtag will also be on display. Videos will be played on giant screens at stadiums across Europe, and child mascots will be wearing #FootballPeople t-shirts. UEFA's collaboration with the Fare network's FootballPeople weeks has been running since 2001. The aim of this initiative fits in perfectly with the goals of #EqualGame, which is looking to promote inclusion, diversity and accessibility.