Armenian midfielder from AS Roma Henrikh Mkhitaryan, absent from the field since a thigh injury at the end of April, will start the Europa League Conference final against Feyenoord Rotterdam on Wednesday (9:00 p.m.) in Tirana, according to the official compositions. Giallorossi coach José Mourinho has finally bet on the experience of the 33-year-old Armenian, although he has missed the last five matches since his injury in the C4 semi-final first leg at Leicester (1-1).
The rest of the line-up announced by UEFA an hour and a quarter before kick-off is as expected, with Nicolo Zaniolo in particular associated in attack with English striker Tammy Abraham, author of the qualifying goal in the return against Leicester (1- 0). On the Feyenoord side, the attack is led by the competition’s top scorer, the Belgian-Nigerian Cyriel Dessers (10 goals), with a team almost unchanged from the one that eliminated Olympique de Marseille in the semi-finals .
The only change is the return to goal of Justin Bijlow, who has been out through injury for more than two months. He takes the place of the Israeli goalkeeper Ofir Marciano, who had preserved his cage in Marseille in the semi-final return (0-0), to ensure the qualification of the Dutch, winners at home in the first leg 3-2. Roma and Feyenoord are competing for the very first Europa League Conference, a new competition launched this season by UEFA alongside the Champions League and the Europa League.
Rui Patricio – Mancini, Smalling, Ibanez – Karsdorp, Cristante, Mkhitaryan, Zalewski – Zaniolo, Pellegrini (cap.) – Abraham
Bijlow (cap.) – Geertruida, Trauner, Senesi (cap.), Malacia – Aursnes, Til, Kökçü – Nelson, Dessers, Sinisterra
