In the early hours of Friday, in the first round of the Europa League group stage, Mourinho will lead Roma to Bulgaria and away to Ludogorets. Due to the fifth round of Serie A, Roma's 0-4 defeat to Udinese, serie A is in a hurry, Mourinho may voluntarily give up the Europa League. Mourinho will send a rotation squad in the Europa League, with new striker Belotti replacing injured Tammy Abraham.
In Roma's 4-0 Udinese match, Tammy Abraham suffered an injury and is expected to be sidelined for two weeks, missing the Europa League match away to Ludogretz on 9 September and the Serie A match against Empoli on 13 September. Southgate, who was preparing for the World Cup, came to Udinese's home stadium in order to investigate striker Abraham and defender Smalling. Watching Roma's 4-0 defeat to Udinese, Southgate was disappointed, not talking about the performance of the two English players, but praising Udinese's performance.
Last season, Tammy Abraham became Roma's hero, but this season, Tammy Abraham's form plummeted, and after five games, he did not show the ability of a striker at all. After Joining Roma, Belotti has been on the bench, but after each appearance, he has performed better.
Even if Tammy Abraham is not injured, Mourinho will let Belotti start in the Europa League, which is a training event for Roma. Mourinho hopes to help Belotti get back in shape quickly through the Europa League.
Although Roma won the European Cup last season, Roma had almost no chance of winning the Europa League. With manchester United and Arsenal, the Europa League champions will not be sidelined. Even with other strong teams in the Champions League, Arsenal and Manchester United are still the biggest favourites in the Europa League. Arsenal and Manchester United this year are big favourites for Premier League champions, and it's easy for both giants to grab the Europa League.
Mourinho will not expect to qualify for next season's Champions League by winning the Europa League, Roma are not the Manchester United of the year and Roma will not have many chances. To compete in next season's Champions League, Roma and Mourinho have only one way to win the top four in Serie A.
Mourinho will test the combination of Belotti and Dybala in the Europa League to see if they can find a better offensive formula. At the same time, Mourinho will let Celik start, get The Card 2, and gradually make Celik the main full-back.
Hopefully, Mourinho will be able to find roma's best squad and style of play through this Europa League match, and return to Serie A to reach the top four smoothly.