AS Roma vs Bayer Leverkusen prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2023-05-10 19:00.
After lifting their first European title for over 60 years by winning last season’s UEFA Europa Conference League, Roma head into this Europa League (UEL) semi-final bidding to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat to Inter Milan at the weekend. That was a fourth-successive game without a win for José Mourinho’s side (D2, L2), but the manager insists he’s “optimistic” his players will return to form, despite admitting they are “tired” after a hectic schedule.
Success in the UEL might be Roma’s best hope of qualifying for Europe next season, given their poor domestic form has seen them drop out of the top six. Returning to UEL action perhaps comes as a welcome distraction then, and Roma supporters will be confident of securing a first-leg triumph against Bayer Leverkusen at Stadio Olimpico, where the Italian outfit have lost just one of their last 24 European matches (W17, D6).
Leverkusen certainly look set to test that record, as they make the trip from Germany on the back of a nine-game unbeaten run away from the BayArena (W6, D3), with a water-tight defence keeping a clean sheet in four of the last five! They do head to Rome on a bit of a downer though, with a 2-1 Bundesliga derby defeat at home to Cologne on Friday all but ending their hopes of a top-four finish.
However manager Xabi Alonso is confident his side can bounce back as they look to reach their first European final since 2002. The former Liverpool midfielder, who has the added distraction of being linked with the vacant Tottenham job, has urged his players to make May a month to “forever remember” as they seek a first win on Italian soil this century (D1, L5).
Key battle: Roma will be hoping captain Lorenzo Pellegrini can find the target considering he’s never lost a home European game in which he has scored (W5, D1). He will be looking to extend that record against Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, who has kept just two clean sheets in his last 15 European away appearances (W8, D2, L5).
Hot streak: Both teams have scored in the previous four meetings between these sides.