Europa League tips: Expect narrow affair between AS Roma and Bayer Leverkusen
- Sergiu Baltuta
- 10 May 2023
AS Roma and Bayer 04 Leverkusen will face off at Stadio Olimpico on Thursday in the first leg of the Europa League semi-finals.
This is likely to be the last chance both sides have of playing Champions League football next season, as neither of them are in the top four of their respective leagues.
Roma and Leverkusen have never faced each other in this competition, but they have played against each other in the Champions League. In 2004 "Die Werkself" managed a 3-1 win at home and a 1-1 draw away, while in 2015, the two teams drew 4-4 at BayArena, with a 3-2 win for the Giallorossi at Stadio Olimpico.
Suggested bet: Both teams to score
Roma faced Feyenoord in the quarter-finals, a team they managed to defeat last year in the Europa Conference League final. After a 1-0 defeat away, the team led by Jose Mourinho managed to qualify after extra time at Stadio Olimpico. Paulo Dybala sent the game into extra time and after 120 minutes, the score was 4-1 to the Giallorossi.
After this victory, Roma went on a four-match winless streak in Serie A. They lost against Atalanta 1-3 and Inter 0-2, while drawing 1-1 against both Monza and AC Milan. This means Roma are out of the Champions League places, five points behind fourth-placed Inter. Indeed, Roma could miss out on European football altogether. They are currently seventh, which would not be enough for them to qualify for Europe should Fiorentina win the Coppa Italia.
Bayer Leverkusen have had a remarkable turnaround in fortunes since replacing their manager. When Xabi Alonso was brought in for Gerardo Seoane, the team were second bottom in the Bundesliga. Under Alonso, they powered up the table but recent draws against Wolfsburg and Union Berlin means their top four chances are low.
In their last match, Leverkusen lost 2-1 to local rivals Koln. This ended their 14-game unbeaten run and sees them in sixth place in the Bundesliga, eight points behind fourth with three games to go.
The German side are playing in the Europa League after finishing third in their Champions League group behind Porto and Club Brugge. They have faced only one strong opponent so far, AS Monaco, who they eliminated on penalties after a 5-5 aggregate draw. In the previous two rounds they knocked out Ferencvaros and Union SG without too many problems.
This is Roma's third consecutive European semi-final. They were eliminated by Manchester United in 2021 in the Europa League and won the Europa Conference League last season. Roma have won 10 of their last 11 elimination games in European competitions.
Meanwhile, Leverkusen are in their fourth European semi-final. They qualified in 1987/88 on their way to winning the UEFA Cup but were knocked out of the same competition at the semi-final stage seven years later. They progressed from the 2001/02 Champions League semi-finals only to lose in the final to Real Madrid.
Suggested bet:
Draw
