HJK and AS Roma meet on Thursday in the Europa League. Both lost their opening matches.
HJK continues the group stage of the football Europa League late on Thursday, when they face the group’s number one favorite AS Roma on their home field at the Stadio Olimpico. The teams go to the second round of matches in the group stage level: HJK lost 0-2 to the Spanish Real Betis at home last Thursday, and Roma suffered a surprise 1-2 defeat in Bulgaria as a guest of Ludogorets.
The match is the clubs’ first ever meeting, and AS Roma’s third game against a Finnish club in the club’s history (it knocked Ilves out of the cup winners’ cup in the 1991-92 season). And there is only one favorite at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday night, since nothing but a win is really good for the home team after the Ludogorets defeat.
Roma’s coach Jose Mourinho however, states that the game will be difficult for the Italian favorites. Familiar coach words before the match? Maybe, but the coaching greatness also has grounds for his statement after studying HJK’s Betis game. The HJK pilot gets praise Toni Koskela.
– Maybe someone thinks this is an easy match, but I don’t think so. The Helsinki coach impressed me, because whenever the team plays organized and has an idea in its game, it comes from a good coach. I like their team, the result of the Betis match could have been completely different, Mourinho said according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
– They reinforce the perception that the teams in northern Europe and Scandinavia have developed on a technical level, they have always had physicality.
At HJK, the largest audience in its history – and a couple hundred of its own supporters
HJK says on its website that Thursday’s match at the approximately 60,000-seat Stadio Olimpico is most likely sold out and that HJK will play in front of the largest crowd in its history.
– Another amazing match at the sold-out Stadio Olimpico. The match will certainly be different from last week (Real Betis home game) – playing away from home in Euro competitions is always very different, except for a few clubs. Roma’s first result was certainly a big disappointment for them, so the start of the match will probably be really tough, all the more reason.
– We have to adapt to the home crowd, the pace and the pressure. Even though we are playing away now, hopefully we will be able to take successes and self-confidence from the first group game into tomorrow, head coach Koskela thought on the club’s website on Wednesday.
HJK says that the team will be supported by a crowd of more than 200 supporters in Rome.
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