'The Semi-Final Is Absolutely Vital To Roma'
- Leicester City face AS Roma in the second leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday
- The Foxes head to Stadio Olimpico for an 8pm kick-off after a 1-1 draw in Leicester
- Italian football expert Vieri Capretta has provided a description of the atmosphere which awaits them
- He believes the Europa Conference League is of utmost importance to José Mourinho and Roma
Leicester City head to Stadio Olimpico on Thursday looking to make history by reaching the Club's first-ever European final. The semi-final tie is finely poised after the first leg in England last week, with Lorenzo Pellegrini's opener for Roma being cancelled out by a Gianluca Mancini own goal.
José Mourinho, I Giallorossi's manager, has labelled the second leg tie as the 'Rome final' – pointing to the fact that it is essentially a standalone fixture following a draw last time around. The winners will face either Feyenoord or Marseille in the final. Feyenoord hold a slim 3-2 advantage in that tie.
Capretta, who was speaking to LCFC Radio's Matchday Live show, expects the famous Rome atmosphere to play a role in Thursday's 8pm kick-off too.
"I think he’ll be happy overall," he said of Mourinho's mindset. "Not having the away goals counting for more anymore, perhaps from what we saw in the first half, we might have wanted a little more, but after the second half, Leicester were really pushing for it and should have probably scored a second.
"That would have kept it very balanced anyway, but this result in the end is quite good for Roma. They can now, essentially, play a one-off match but in their own stadium in front of their own fans. We’ve seen it against Bodø/Glimt how much of a difference that can make.
"It will be a fantastic atmosphere. All the Roma fans, despite the fact that Roma haven’t won in the last four games in all competitions, will really want to get behind their team. They can really be incredible. We’ve seen that in several matches.
"You’ll love the anthem before the match starts, so I think the atmosphere will be amazing. It’s a very big stadium obviously, the Olimpico, it’s very different to a lot of the English grounds. The crowd is far away but it gives you that sense that it’s something that’s massive.
"If you’re not used to it, even as a professional player, that can play with your mind a little. It’ll be interesting to see how Leicester react to this – if they go for it even more, or if they’re a little afraid initially. The crowd could be Roma’s extra man."
Mourinho rested several of his star players for Roma's last Serie A outing on Sunday night – a 0-0 draw with Bologna at Stadio Olimpico. Leicester, on the other hand, also made wide-ranging changes to their XI for the Premier League visit to Tottenham Hotspur. Both sides, as a result, should be fresh for the tie.
"Roma will be [fresh]," Capretta added. "Mourinho, in the post-match press conference, said if he started his regular players that he could have been criticised for not resting them.
"Roma didn’t get the win against Bologna at home, which on paper they should have, but they rested their players because, right now, the semi-final is absolutely vital. It means a lot, it’s a European competition and the chance to get to a European final and perhaps win some silverware.
"[Mourinho’s] never lost a European cup final. He’s won the Europa League twice and the Champions League twice. This is the chance to really make history because Roma haven’t won a trophy is over a decade.
"Nobody’s ever won the Conference League because it's the first year of the competition. That means Roma are the first side to make it to the semi-finals of all three of Europe’s current competitions. This would add to that and, especially for Mourinho, make it something particularly unique."
All times BST.