Roma director Tiago Pinto says it is ‘too early’ to discuss buying Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea, but admits the injury crisis is hitting the defence hard against Servette.
It kicks off in Geneva at 20.00 GMT.
Lukaku is only on loan from Chelsea, but there are already reports that the Giallorossi are working out terms to make the move a permanent one from the summer.
“We already courted him, otherwise he wouldn’t be here,” laughed Tiago Pinto when asked by Sky Sport Italia how Roma were going to convince the Belgian to remain.
“It is too early to talk about this. Let us enjoy Lukaku to the end, try not to do the way you did with Paulo Dybala when you constantly asked about the release clause.”
Roma reached the Europa League Final last season, losing to Sevilla on penalties, and are hoping to go all the way again under Jose Mourinho.
Meanwhile, city rivals Lazio have guaranteed their place in the Champions League Round of 16.
“We know the Champions League takes you to a different level and that is the objective for everyone. We try to do our best in Serie A and the Europa League to reach the Champions League. We’re not envious of others, we are just trying to get there too.”
An important step would be finishing top of the Europa League group, as that means missing the play-offs against a team that drops down from the Champions League.
“We want to win this game and see what happens. It is true that in 2023 we haven’t won as many games away from home and didn’t keep the same level of performance, but if you look at it carefully, we did get the result we wanted with Real Sociedad and Bayer Leverkusen. We can always improve, especially if more players are available.”
Chris Smalling is still no nearer to a comeback, while Gianluca Mancini is only fit for the bench today, so Bryan Cristante drops into defence.
“We cannot hide the fact we are unlucky with two centre-backs who are out for long-term injuries, so the other three had to play every game. There is always the risk of an injury when that is the situation.
“The Smalling situation is complicated, we were so pleased four months ago when he signed the new contract, we are working with the medical staff and the player to resolve these problems.”