Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma meet at Bay Arena in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League semifinals. The Italians have a minimal lead from the opening contest but facing plenty of problems with injuries. Meanwhile, Bayer is experiencing a sharp drop in form following a period of fantastic performances and excellent results. Things are tough for both units, and the question here is who has more mental strength -. Germans with their impeccable mentality, or a crew led by Jose Mourinho, one of the greatest ever psychologists in the game.
More Europa and Champions League previews
Preview
Bayer Leverkusen (+100) played just 1-1 in Stuttgart on Sunday afternoon, posting its fourth consecutive contest without a victory. After playing 0-0 with Union in Berlin, they met with Koln at home only to lose 1-2, then to Roma on the road, 1-0, before a tie in Stuttgart.
Leverkusen’s events have been very efficient all season long, but lately, that’s not the case. Five of the last six events saw under 2.5 golas, and in three of those meetings, Bayer couldn’t score.
The hosts had a run of six home clashes without a failure before losing to FC Koln. In five of them, Leverkusen came out on the victorious side, netting twice in each. This leads us to the conclusion that Bayern’s offense is crucial for positive results.
AS Roma (+300) played without goals in Bologna, 0-0, which was the fifth consecutive contest for Mourinho and his boys ending under 2.5 scores. Yet that’s nothing new when talking about Il Lupi under the Special One.
The team from the Italian capital posts mixed results throughout the year, and we can say there is no consistency in that aspect. Plenty of injuries have hit Roma’s best players in recent weeks, and that’s why the team lost pace in the Serie A top-four race.
Roma has just one win in the last ten outings, with five losses and four draws. After back-to-back losses in Rotterdam and Bergamo, Il Lupi played 1-1 in Monza and without goals in Bologna.
Latest News
Andrich and Kossounou are out for the season. Bellarabi, Schick, Lunev, and Araguiz will be back before the end of the campaign, but not for this game.
Marash Kumbilla is our for sure, but Dybala, Smalling, and Llorente have minor injuries that prevent them from being 100% fit.
Head to Head Games
The first meeting in Rome ended with the hosts winning 1-0, following a very dull and boring matchup. Edoardo Boce netted a goal for Il Lupin in the 63rd minute, which was eventually the only score of this event. Tensions were high in this event, especially in the second 45 minutes once we saw seven yellow cards.
Prediction
Be sure that we won’t see too many goals, despite the tradition between these units in Leverkusen. In 2015, the result was 4-4 and in 2004, 3-1 for the hosts. This time, Mourinho comes to Germany to shut down all the paths toward his goal and to keep that one-goal edge. That’s why we chose unde 2.5 goals with odds on that sitting at -120.
Pick: Under 2.5 goals -125
Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
Twitter:
Email: nikola@wagerbop.com
Leave a Reply