Preview: Roma vs. Brighton - Team news and prediction

Serie A's 5th-placed AS Roma welcomes Premier League's 9th-placed team to Stadio Olimpico in the Europa League Round of 16. Roma is currently in good form, remaining unbeaten in their last five matches across all competitions. On the other hand, Brighton has not secured a win in their last three matches, suffering a recent 3-0 defeat to Fulham where their gameplay was not effective. 

It's Brighton's debut in the Europa League, making it the first encounter between these two clubs. Roma, being a regular participant in European competitions, holds an advantage having experienced knockout matches on several occasions. 

Roma current form: 
LDWWWW

Brighton current form: 
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Team news: 
Roma faces defensive issues as the club will be without Rasmus Kristensen and Rick Karsdorp, two regular starters in the defense. Tammy Abraham remains sidelined due to injury and is also not included in the match squad. 

Kaoru Mitoma, Solly March, Jack Hinshelwood, and James Milner are sidelined with injuries and will not be part of the trip to Rome, while there is significant doubt about Brighton's top scorer in the tournament, Joao Pedro. 

Roma expected lineup: 
Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Smalling, Angelino; Cristante, Paredes, Pellegrini; Dybala, Lukaku, El Shaarawy. 

Brighton expected lineup: 
Verbruggen; Lamptey, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan; Gross, Baleba; Adingra, Enciso, Buonanotte; Welbeck. 

Prediction: 
This has the potential to be two entertaining encounters, as both teams are often involved in high-scoring matches. However, we believe that experience and home-field advantage could be decisive in tonight's match. Therefore, we suggest AS Roma to win the game at odds of 2.10 on Betway. 

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