Roma Head to Bergamo To Face Italy’s Europa League Finalist

The “six-point match” truism is a tired one, but if there was a match that deserved to be called one, it’d be tomorrow’s match between Roma and sixth-place Atalanta. Both teams are fighting for Champions League qualification for next season, and while Atalanta has booked a ticket to the Europa League final in Dublin to grant themselves two opportunities to secure the financial windfall that CL represents, there’s enough animosity between these sides that both clubs will want to place over their competitor in the league for bragging rights’ sake alone.

That Europa League Final appearance for Atalanta is likely to stick in the craw of many Romanisti, as for a time on Thursday, it felt like the Giallorossi were in line to make that match an all-Italian affair. Then came an incredibly unfortunate own goal from Gianluca Mancini and a stoppage-time equalizer for Leverkusen, and with that, Roma’s hopes of reaching three straight European finals were extinguished.

On some level, you still have to applaud the squad for making it as far as they did in the Europa League, despite struggling with poor form throughout José Mourinho’s last several months of managing the side. It’s also true that Roma ran headlong into the buzzsaw that is Bayer Leverkusen this season (and respect to them for still being undefeated in the middle of May), but that doesn’t mean that Romanisti should look at this season as done and dusted.

Tomorrow’s match could very nearly guarantee that Roma is in the driver’s seat for Champions League qualification through the league as the season draws to a close, and the money that comes along with that could be just what Daniele De Rossi and Roma’s next General Manager need to ensure that the next time Roma makes it to a European semifinal, they finish the job.

What To Watch For

Spinny’s Out, Angeliño’s In?

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Angeliño has been one of many feel-good stories of the second half of Roma’s season, alongside the meteoric rise of Mile Svilar, the confirmation of Daniele De Rossi as a top-flight coach, and the quick return of Evan Ndicka to the field following a collapse that many worried was caused by an on-pitch heart attack. Not much was expected of the Spaniard when he came to Rome; it was more the poor form of Roma’s fullbacks that necessitated the move instead of anything, in particular, Angeliño had displayed in his career to date. Yet since coming to Rome, he has looked like Roma’s best fullback bar none, and reports indicate that Roma will be exercising their option this summer with RB Leipzig to make his stay at the Stadio Olimpico a permanent one.

And not a moment too soon, as reports now also indicate that following a thigh injury early in Roma’s second-leg match against Leverkusen, Leonardo Spinazzola is done for the season. Spinny’s had an up-and-down season, to say the least, and in all honesty, his entire career with Roma has been up-and-down; one moment, he’s looked like the best wing-back in the world; the next, injuries derail him and get him stuck in a valley of poor form.

With Spinny’s contract expiring this summer, it’s anybody’s guess if he stays in Rome; continued strong performances by Angeliño would go a long way in allowing the Spaniard to take over a role in the starting eleven for the long term while also permitting Roma to think long and hard about cutting bait on Nicola Zalewski as well.

Will We See The Rebirth of Tammy Abraham?

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Speaking of hot and cold, Tammy Abraham has had a similarly hot-and-cold career in Rome to date. When he came to the Olimpico from Chelsea, he looked like a perennial capocannoniere candidate in the making, yet his second season in Rome was one to forget, culminating in an ACL tear that kept him out of the lineup until about a month ago. He’s now on the mend and theoretically fully healthy and available, but watching Abraham play, you get a sense that there’s still one or two more boxes he needs to check on a physical and mental level before he can even think about returning to the peak of his form with the Giallorossi.

Like it or not, Roma needs Abraham to find that form and fast. Romelu Lukaku has been looking more and more invisible over the past month, and he’s not even on a permanent deal with the Giallorossi. Regardless of whether or not Roma makes the Champions League next season, it’s highly likely that Roma’s striker corps on July 1 will consist of Abraham and Sardar Azmoun.

These last several weeks of play in Serie A, which feature match-ups against major sides, could help the Giallorossi figure out if they can ride with Abraham through the summer and re-establish him as Roma’s star attacker or if they need to cut bait, send him back to the Premier League, and look elsewhere for a starting striker. Strikers are so form-dependent that one goal against Atalanta, even a middling one, could prove to be the spark Abraham needs to rediscover his form. If he can rediscover that form, it will make Roma’s decision-making process this summer ten times easier. If he can’t, well, expect a tsunami wave of striker links the moment Roma’s next General Manager signs his contract.

Match Details

Date: May 12th

Kickoff: 20:45 CET/2:45 EDT

Venue: Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo