UEFA Europa Conference League: AS Roma vs. Feyenoord Preview, Odds, Prediction

The finals of the Europa Conference League between AS Roma and Feyenoord take place in Tirana. Air Albania Stadium, the recently built structure in the capital of this country hosts the Italian and the Dutch powerhouse, who are going to square off in search of glory, and arguably the biggest success for these two teams in the last couple of decades. Both sides have similar chances to win, noting that the bookies take Roma as a very slight favorite. We expect to see an interesting battle between Jose Mourinho and Arne Slot, two head coaches who nourish a completely different game style.

Preview

AS Roma (+140) beat Torino this Friday in the closing round of the Serie A competition. The final result of that one was 0-3, and even though it didn’t have any competitive meaning, Il Lupi was focused on the field, beating the Bulls in their own house.

A win in this one came in handy for the Italians, as it was only the second one in the recent eight events. Throughout that time, Roma posted four draws and two defeats but won when needed the most, eliminating Leicester from the semis with a triumph at Olimpico, 1-0.

In the previous five road games Roma played, four ended with a moderate efficiency, meaning two or three goals. In all the important game, Mourinho went back to his old philosophy, meaning that he tightened up the defense, locking all the paths towards the goal.

Feyenoord (+210) lost in the last round of the Eredivise at home to Twente in a game that didn’t mean anything for them. It was the first failure for Slot’s unit following 12 events in which they stayed unbeaten. Throughout that stretch, Rotterdammers won eight times and had four draws.

Their contests are highly efficient, as only three in the past 15 ended with under 2.5 goals. They scored in each of them, and throughout the season, this team has displayed a very aggressive and offensive-minded football.

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Mkhitaryan will probably be out for this one, while on the other side, Zaniolo stands as doubtful.

In Feyenoord, goalkeeper Bijlow had some trouble, but he should be ready for the game the same as Tyrell Malacia.

Head to Head Games

In the 2014/15 season, these two clubs met in the Europa League round of 16. Roma had more success, eliminating the rivals, 2-3 on aggregate. The first game, the one at the Olimpico, ended 1-1, but the Italians managed to beat Feyenoord at De Kuip, 1-2, and earn themselves the ticket to the next stage.

Prediction

On one side, Roma is going to be very careful. That is, Mourinho will try to prevent any negative surprises, and he will close all the paths toward his goal. On the other side, Feyenoord won’t change its style of play, that is for sure because they simply don’t know to play in any other way than to attack all the time. Our pick here would be over 2.5 goals, solely because of the Dutch side, as we believe that they have more chances of imposing their tempo and style than Il Lupi.

Pick: Over 2.5 goals -105

 

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