Fenerbahçe vs AS Roma: predicted lineups and our prediction, Roma back after seven years
Thursday 10 September at 18:45 in Istanbul, and Roma are back in the Champions League after seven years. It is also the first ever meeting between the two clubs.
Fenerbahçe vs AS Roma is played on Thursday 10 September at 18:45 CET in Istanbul, on matchday one of the Champions League.
For AS Roma it is a return to the competition after seven years, the last time being 2018-19. And one detail makes the night even harder to read: the two clubs have never met before, in any competition.
Where to watch
In Italy the match is on Sky Sport, with streaming on Sky Go and NOW. Coverage differs by country, so check your local listing elsewhere.
There is an idea going round that it is on Prime Video. It is not: Prime carry one game a week, on Wednesday night, and this is a Thursday fixture.
How Roma arrive
In the best possible shape. They lead Serie A with nine points from nine, and a record nobody else in the division can show: ten goals scored and one conceded in three rounds. On Saturday they beat Atalanta 2-1 at the Olimpico, turning it round in the closing minutes through Hermoso on 90 and Soulé in stoppage time.
Donyell Malen is the name of the moment: five goals in the opening two rounds, a hat-trick among them.
How Fenerbahçe arrive
With a squad that carries weight in Europe and a single announced absentee, Jayden Oosterwolde. N'Golo Kanté sits in midfield, Milan Škriniar behind him, Vedat Muriqi up front with Mason Greenwood wide.
The predicted lineups
Fenerbahçe (4-2-3-1)
Ederson in goal; Nélson Semedo, Milan Škriniar, Nathan Aké and Archie Brown at the back; N'Golo Kanté and İsmail Yüksek in the middle; Mason Greenwood, İrfan Can Kahveci and Oğuz Aydın behind Vedat Muriqi.
AS Roma (3-4-2-1)
Mile Svilar in goal; Gianluca Mancini, Daniele Ghilardi and Mario Hermoso in the three; Nahuel Molina and Wesley wide, Bryan Cristante and Manu Koné in the middle; Matías Soulé and Paulo Dybala behind Donyell Malen.
Predicted lineups can change until an hour before kick-off, when the official teamsheets are released.
Our prediction
We say more than 1.5 goals. It is the read that accounts for how games go in Turkey: the ground pushes, Fenerbahçe attack from the first minute at home, and Roma are not a side that settles for defending a draw even away.
On the result we do not commit, and this time the reason is that there is no head-to-head to read: having never met, the part of the analysis that usually carries most weight simply is not there. What is left are the numbers from the two current seasons, and those say Roma are in better shape.
Then we count it
When the Champions League round closes we publish the tally with nothing removed. The record of settled calls is in the results history.
Our analysis stays updated until kick-off on the Champions League page, and the individual calls are in the Player Predictions section.
