Both looking to boost their hopes of reaching the Europa League's knockout stage, Celtic and Roma will go toe-to-toe in Glasgow on Thursday evening.
Now under new management, the Scottish champions trail their Italian counterparts by two points in the table, with neither sure to finish inside the top 24.
Match preview
Moving out of the elimination places and into a playoff spot, Celtic secured three crucial points from their last Europa League outing, impressively beating Feyenoord 3-1 at De Kuip.
Despite falling behind early on, strikes from Hyun-Jun Yang, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren made Martin O'Neill's final European game as interim manager truly memorable.
Upon the 73-year-old's recent departure, the Bhoys had won five straight Scottish Premiership matches - scoring 12 goals and conceding just one - which trimmed Hearts' big lead at the top of the table.
Having also steered Celtic past old foes Rangers and into the League Cup final, O'Neill was replaced by Wilfried Nancy, who has made a big impact on MLS over the past few seasons.
However, the Frenchman lost his first match in charge, going down 2-1 at home to title rivals Hearts last weekend, and he has little time to implement a planned tactical overhaul.
A big week lies ahead, as Sunday's cup final clash with St Mirren will follow a midweek visit from one of Serie A's top sides.
Set to meet Roma for the first time, Celtic have won just two of their last 16 games against Italian opposition - both versus the Giallorossi's city rivals Lazio in the 2019-20 Europa League.
© Imago
Roma have more recently enjoyed victory over Celtic's biggest enemies, having beaten Rangers 2-0 at Ibrox just a few weeks ago.
So, they can now become the first team for 12 seasons to defeat both Old Firm clubs in Glasgow - improbably, the last was Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Currently two points above Thursday's hosts, Roma posted the first home win of their Europa League campaign by beating former leaders FC Midtjylland last month.
Neil El Aynaoui and Stephan El Shaarawy both scored as the Giallorossi inched up to 15th in the table, leaving them just a point outside the top eight, all of whom will directly qualify for the last 16.
The capital club's 100th victory in UEFA's second-tier competition could prove important, ahead of a tricky run-in featuring games against Celtic, Stuttgart, and away to Panathinaikos.
A Europa League winner with Atalanta BC in 2024, head coach Gian Piero Gasperini recently took his new club to the Serie A summit, but Roma have just lost back-to-back league games for the first time this calendar year.
After sinking to defeat against struggling Cagliari on Sunday, when Zeki Celik was sent off in Sardinia, they now sit fourth in Italy's top flight - albeit still on course to book a Champions League comeback.
Celtic Europa League form:
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Celtic form (all competitions):
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Roma Europa League form:
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Roma form (all competitions):
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Team News © Imago / Visionhaus
With the Scottish League Cup final coming up this weekend, it remains to be seen how Nancy approaches Thursday's game, but Celtic are set to line up in his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation.
Marcelo Saracchi will miss out again with a hamstring problem, while Alistair Johnston, Callum Osmand and Cameron Carter-Vickers are longer-term absentees; veteran winger James Forrest has only just resumed training.
Hatate and Nygren are the Bhoys' joint-top scorers in this season's Europa League with two goals apiece, and they should both feature in the final third.
Meanwhile, Roma will head to Celtic Park without Ukraine striker Artem Dovbyk, who has been sidelined for several weeks by a thigh injury.
In better news for Gasperini - who could make changes in response to successive defeats and before Monday's game against Como - Brazilian wing-back Wesley should be available after a brief layoff.
Due to Dovbyk's ongoing absence, either Paulo Dybala or Tommaso Baldanzi may start as a false nine, with conventional targetman Evan Ferguson currently out of favour.
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Trusty, Scales, Tierney; Yang, McGregor, Engels, Tounekti; Nygren, Hatate; Maeda
Roma possible starting lineup:
Svilar; Ghilardi, Mancini, Ndicka; Celik, Kone, El Aynaoui, Tsimikas; Soule, Pellegrini; Dybala
We say: Celtic 0-1 Roma
Dating back over a decade, none of Celtic's last 19 Europa League home matches have ended in a draw, and that tradition could continue.
Despite suffering a couple of setbacks, Gasperini's Roma are far further along their road to renewal than Nancy's work-in-progress.
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