Roma vs Sheriff Tiraspol Prediction: Lukaku to boost Golden Boot chances

Roma host Sheriff Tiraspol at the Stadio Olimpico on the final matchday of the Europa League on Thursday (KO, 17:45), knowing a win still may not be enough to secure first place in Group G and a spot in the round of 16.

As it stands, the Giallorossi are set to progress to the knockout round play-off where they will meet one of the eight teams who have finished third in their Champions League group.

Sheriff, on the other hand, won't be playing European football of any description in the new year, as they are only on one point and cannot catch third-placed Servette.

Team News

Evan Ndicka will miss Thursday's clash as a result of accumulating too many yellow cards in the first five games, while Jose Mourinho could opt to make a number of other changes against a side they beat 2-1 in the reverse fixture.

Paulo Dybala was substituted midway through the first-half against Fiorentina on Sunday with an injury and the Argentine has been ruled out for the rest of the calendar year. Romelu Lukaku should get the opportunity to add to his four group goals, though, as he will miss Roma's next league game through suspension, alongside Nicola Zalewski.

The Belgian will likely be paired in attack with Andrea Belotti; Sardar Azmoun is unlikely to be risked after coming off injured on the weekend, while Renato Sanches, Leonardo Spinazzola, Edoardo Bove and Houssem Aouar could all be handed starting berths.

The visitors will welcome back Gaby Kiki and Armel Zohouri after the duo were suspended for their last European match, a 3-2 home defeat to Slavia Prague.

Match Odds

Roma are huge favourites (1/8) to win on Thursday and make it three out of three wins in Group G at the Stadio Olimpico, while Sheriff are long odds for the victory at 18/1. The draw is available at 7/1.

Both teams to score, meanwhile, is priced at 11/8, and it's 4/9 for over 2.5 goals, which landed in the reverse fixture.

Romelu Lukaku to score 2+ goals @ 18/5

The on-loan Chelsea striker will miss Sunday's trip to Bologna and must then wait a further six days to return to action against Napoli, so he should get plenty of minutes against Sheriff as he bids to catch up with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Joao Pedro in the Europa League top scorer charts.

Lukaku has found the net four times so far in the competition, the first of which was a winner against Sheriff in September.

The Moldovan side have conceded 14 times in five group games, and with nothing to play for, they could be on the end of another hammering on Thursday.

Lukaku has scored multiple goals in three separate matches this term - twice for his country and once for his club - and he will be desperate to make it a fourth this week.

Roma to win and both teams to score @ 2/1

The home side should be confident of picking up the victory they need to stand a chance of finishing first in Group G, but with several changes expected to be made by Mourinho, the visitors could still get themselves on the scoresheet.

Despite picking up just a single point from the 15 available to them, Sheriff have scored in all but one of their group games, including the 2-1 defeat to Roma on matchday one.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.