Saturday’s demolition at the Etihad was just the latest entry into Tottenham Hotspur’s rollercoaster and a reminder of all the heights this club can reach. That win of course followed defeats to Ipswich and Galatasaray, which also reminds everyone just how low this club can go. What comes next is anyone’s guess, but a win on Thursday would certainly be welcome.

That’s because Roma are coming to London for the final round of the Europa League, which represents Tottenham’s biggest hurdle in the competition stage. A win would put Spurs in prime position for a bye in the knockout play-off; anything less threatens to keep that qualification in balance and prevent any respite in the final few matches. Just as important is simply maintaining the atmosphere after the weekend’s triumph (Guglielmo Vicario news aside).

Tottenham Hotspur (t-7th, 9 points) vs. Roma (t-19th, 5 points)

Date: Thursday, November 28
Time: 3:00 PM ET, 8:00 PM UK
Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
TV: Paramount+ (US), TNT Sports 1 (UK)

Things aren’t great in Rome. A brutal start in Serie A has seen the club drop to thirteenth place, and a 1-2-1 start in the Europa League is not exactly how this competition should have started. This led to Daniele De Rossi being sacked early on and Ivan Juric retained not long after, leaving Claudio Ranieri in charge.

Spurs have not met Roma in a competitive match, which is strange considering the number of other Italian sides that have made their way to North London. The last three examples of this all took place in the Champions League, with Juventus and Milan knocking Tottenham out of the competition and Spurs split the group stage matches against Inter during that magical run.

Trot forward

The inconsistency of the Spurs’ season has many factors, although a running theme is struggling with low blocks versus taking on wide-open opponents. With Ranieri recently appointed and simply looking to stop the bleeding, it stands to reason that Roma will look defensively healthy, presenting a new challenge for the home side. I’ll no longer waste my breath predicting lineups, but it feels like Ange Postecoglou will need to add some creative pieces to build an attacking threat.

Meanwhile, Artem Dovbyk and Paulo Dybala (sigh) are the threats coming the other way, although goals are generally difficult for Roma to come by. After Victor Osimhen’s destruction of the back-up Tottenham defense and Fraser Forster, I’m still a little worried about Europe, although the Ben Davies-Radu Dragusin combination calmed the doubters against City. This will probably be a tough match, but I think Spurs fans will be grateful when it’s over.