Cesc Fàbregas says Feyenoord want to play attacking, dominant football, and a 5-0 and a 7-0 in the last month make that easy to believe. But in the league game where the other side actually had more of the ball, against AZ, Feyenoord won 2-0 with 43% possession and still had 15 shots to 12. Como's last match, a 0-0 with Roma, was the mirror image: 66% of the ball and 19 shots, with nothing to show for it even a man up from the 53rd minute. So I'd ask who is comfortable being the team without the ball in this match, because it may not be the side everyone expects.
Feyenoord first, from the match records in our DB (some results are still marked provisional). The 5-0 against Utrecht on Sept 20 had goals in the 6th, 9th and 33rd minutes, xG 3.41 to 0.58 and 57% of the ball. The AZ game was different in shape: xG 2.15 to 0.98, goals in the 13th and 59th minute, and AZ with 57% of the ball. The only game against a team that took the ball and kept it was Barcelona on Sept 9, where Feyenoord had 28%, four shots and 0.53 xG in a 1-5. That is a much higher level than Como, but it is the one example of what happens when they cannot counter. Their Aug 30 home draw (2-2) went the other way: 33 shots, 69% possession, xG 2.47 to 0.24, and they still conceded in the 12th and 53rd minutes from eight visiting shots.
Como have two different faces in the records. In the 4-1 over RB Leipzig on Sept 10 they had 49% of the ball and xG of 2.98 to 1.36, so that win did not come from territory. At Genoa on Sept 4 they had 62% and 20 shots, conceded in the 19th minute and then scored in the 25th, 30th and 40th. Against Roma they had the territory and no goal. The 0-2 at Frosinone on Sept 20 is the other result I would not skip over. The thing I cannot see in these numbers is how Como defend when a team breaks at them quickly from a deep position, which is what Feyenoord did to AZ.
On team news, per FR12's match-day piece Watanabe is fit again, which lets Mármol go back to left-back, and Zechiël, who looked tired against AZ, is available. Moder is training but probably not ready. Our availability data has Smal, Bos and Beelen out for Feyenoord and Kean out for Como. Rest also differs: Feyenoord's last game was four days before, Como's three days before.
So the contrast I'd watch is the first quarter of an hour. Feyenoord scored inside 15 minutes in two of their last three league games. If that happens, Como will be the team with the ball chasing, which is the version of the game they handled least well against Roma.
