BAYER LEVERKUSEN stand just five games away from a stunning Invincible treble and are heavy favourites to line up a Europa League Final by finishing off Roma in their semi-final.
Having already wrapped up the Bundesliga and booked a slot in the German Cup Final, Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten side are now dreaming of European glory.
Like Slip Tips, I thought Roma would ask plenty of questions when Leverkusen came to the Stadio Olimpico but the new German champions claimed an impressive 2-0 win.
It’s now three games without a win for the Serie A giants but they’ll give it one last push in Leverkusen as they bid to keep their faint Europa League hopes alive.
Roma have been written off in this tie, with SkyBet pricing them at 25/1 to reach the final, with Bayer Leverkusen a tiny 1/200. For a win on the night, the Serie A side are 23/4 (BetUK) while the Germans are 4/7 (StarSports) and the draw pays 7/2 (William Hill).
Bayer Leverkusen’s victory last week in Rome evened up the head-to-head, making it two wins apiece and three draws. When Roma came to the Bay Arena in last year’s Europa League semi, a 0-0 draw was enough to seal a 1-0 aggregate triumph.
Florian Wirtz scored for Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg is now just one goal away from taking his tally for the season to 20. The 21-year-old is 5/2 (BoyleSports) for anytime scorer while McBookie price him at 12/5 for an assist.
Romelu Lukaku has been banging in the goals for Roma and a weekend strike against Juventus took his season’s tally to 28. The big Belgian is 15/8 at SkyBet to either score or assist and that looks a little overpriced.
Leverkusen are without Noah Mbamba, Adam Hlozek and Borja Iglesias while Paulo Dybala should be fit for Roma despite lasting just 45 minutes at the weekend.
Bayer Leverkusen: Hradecky; Stanisic, Tah, Tapsoba; Frimpong, Xhaka, Palacios, Grimaldo; Wirtz, Adli; Boniface
Roma: Svilar; Karsdrop, Mancini, Ndicka, Spinazzola; Cristante, Paredes, Pellegrini; Dybala, Lukaku, El Shaarawy
Roma have no option but to attack as they bid to overhaul a 2-0 deficit so it bodes well for an open game with Leverkusen looking to hit on the break. Combining BTTS with over 2.5 goals pays 5/4 at Paddy Power and that looks decent.
There was plenty of aggro in the first leg with a brawl breaking out after Roma’s second goal. That suggests some scores might be settled in the return and over 5.5 cards pays 5/4 with Unibet.
Roma stopper Gialuca Mancini is 12/5 (Unibet) for a 14th card this term while Leverkusen’s Granit Xhaka is 3/1 (Bet365) to go into book.
This UEFA Europa League match between Bayer Leverkusen and Roma will be played on
May 9, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Bayer Leverkusen vs Roma prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
