Roma will be looking to stop the all-conquering Bayer Leverkusen in their tracks on Thursday evening at the Stadio Olimpico when they will collide in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final tie.
For the second successive season, Roma and Leverkusen will meet in the last four, and it has the ingredients to be a mouth-watering tie.
Last term, Roma edged out Leverkusen, but the latter are a more formidable outfit nowadays.
With the Bundesliga title already in the bag, Leverkusen will be looking to complete a memorable treble this campaign, and they have the German Cup Final to look forward to.
For the second weekend in a row, Leverkusen had to mount a comeback in Germany’s top flight, scoring a last-gasp equaliser against Stuttgart to extend their unbeaten streak to 46 games in all competitions.
Roma, meanwhile, have made significant strides under Daniele de Rossi, losing just three of the 20 games (W13, D4) since he took charge.
But will history repeat itself in the Eternal City? I have taken a closer look at the betting markets and sourced a couple of tips for your perusal.
Roma to grab a crucial advantage
While the road to the Final is always laden with danger, Roma have clicked through the gears over the past few months.
So far in the knockout stages, they have been professional against Brighton and AC Milan, completing tough looking assignments inside 180 minutes.
Perhaps what will be more disconcerting is that Roma have only kept one clean sheet in their past five matches in all competitions.
A positive result shouldn’t be understated given the Serie A outfit have only won once on their travels in the Europa League.
Leverkusen, meanwhile, have had a penchant for netting late goals; all eight of Xabi Alonso’s last eight goals in the knockout stages of the competition have arrived after the 70th minute mark, while half of those have fallen after the 90th minute.
Roma haven’t tasted defeat against Leverkusen at home in European competition, and I don’t see that changing.
It could still be quite tight, but to kick things off, I’m going with Roma to nab an advantage and for there to be Over 2 goals in the match which is trading at a tasty 15/4 with William Hill.
Paulo Dybala to make the difference
Often parallels are drawn with his countryman Lionel Messi, Paulo Dybala has a habit of popping up with some crucial goals.
The Argentine forward has chipped in with 16 goals across all competitions, and in the last round against Milan, Dybala hit the target.
He’s the sort of player that turns up for the big occasion, and while Roma will be wary of the threats of Victor Boniface and Patrik Schick, who are Leverkusen’s joint-top scorers in the Europa League with five goals apiece, Dybala could end up having the last laugh.
To round things off, I’m going with Dybala to grab the last goal of the game, albeit he’s at a longer looking 17/2 with bet365.
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