AS Roma are all set to host Eredivisie giants Feyenoord in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday, 20 April. Jose Mourinho’s side are aiming to make a comeback after a disappointing 1-0 loss in their traveling game at the Netherlands.
Roma have been performing pretty well in Europe under the Portuguese manager, having won the UEFA Europa Conference League last season. But now they’re in scrambles to save their European journey this season, facing an in-form Feyenoord side that showed themselves as being no pushovers last week.
Of course, Mourinho’s side will need to play on the front foot at the Stadio Olimpico to win this tie and make a comeback. But Feyenoord are not a side to simply sit back and accept their fate, as they’ll also play progressive attacking football – which should make this a thrilling encounter.
Last 5 Games
Feyenoord have actually been in a better run of form than Roma in the last few weeks, which probably influenced their narrow win over Mourinho’s side last week too. The Dutch giants will head into this game with a lot of momentum after a 3-0 win at the Eredivisie at the weekend.
AS Roma
Win: 3-0 vs Udinese
Loss: 1-0 vs Feyenoord
Win: 1-0 vs Torino
Win: 3-0 vs Sampdoria
Loss: 1-0 vs Lazio
Feyenoord
Win: 3-0 vs Cambuur
Win: 1-0 vs AS Roma
Win: 5-1 vs RKC Waalwijk
Loss: 2-1 vs Ajax
Win: 3-1 vs Sparta Rotterdam
Predicted Lineups
AS Roma are going to be without their influential right-back Rick Karsdorp for this game after he suffered a knee injury last month.
However, they should be able to welcome back Paulo Dybala into the lineup after he missed the Udinese game due to an injury.
Feyenoord are going to be without young winger Patrik Walemark as well as right-back Mimeirhel Benita – who both suffered nasty injuries just before the game against Roma. Midfielder Quinten Timber is also a doubt for this one.
AS Roma: Patricio, Mancini, Smalling, Ibanez, Zalewski, Wijnaldum, Matic, Spinazzola, Dybala, Pellegrini, Abrhaam
Feyenoord: Bijlow, Geertruida, Trauner, Hancko, Hartman, Wieffer, Szymanski, Kokcu, Jahanbaksh, Idrrissi, Gimenez
Head-to-Head
AS Roma have faced Feyenoord four times in their history so far, with the two teams sharing some feisty clashes already. Roma have won two of the four games faced against the Eredivisie side, which included the Europa Conference League final last season.
However, Feyenoord got their revenge in the recent-most clash last week – with midfielder Mats Wieffer scoring an impressive goal to give his side a 1-0 lead heading into the second leg.
Where the game will be decided
The first leg of the Europa League clash between Roma and Feyenoord ended up being a pretty tight affair, mostly because Mourinho’s side trying to just drag a draw or a slender win to the second leg.
That ended up failing, as Feyenoord managed to convert their chance and score a crucial goal. That means the game at the Stadio Olimpico can be a much more exciting, open-ended battle in which both teams look to win.
Both Roma and Feyenoord boast talented midfielders and the midfield battle will play a key role in deciding the possible outcome. The Dutch side will probably play the role of the defensive unit, but look to trouble Mourinho’s side with constant swift breaks.
The team which is able to control the game better and be more aggressive in winning the ball in key areas in midfield and transitioning to better swift breaks should win the game and go onto the semi-final – while the set-pieces could also be another decisive factor in this game.
Prediction
We back AS Roma to make the turnaround and progress to the Europa League semi-finals at Feyenoord’s expense. The Giallorossi turn into different animals in front of their home crowd and have been involved in some famous turnarounds in Europe in recent years.
Mourinho should bring out the big guns and motivate his side to capitalize on Feyenoord’s weaknesses and get a compelling win. Feyenoord could actually be made to pay for being too defensive and lack of experience in such occasions, which Roma are likely to pounce on as well. Expect Roma to take their chances better than they did in the first leg.
Prediction: AS Roma 3-1 Feyenoord
Odds*
AS Roma to win: 13/15
Draw: 53/20
Feynoord to win: 63/20
AS Roma are the overwhelming favorites to win the game with 13/15 odds. This means if one was to bet $1 on them to win, getting that result would fetch them a return of $1.87 – with a $0.87 profit.
Feyenoord, meanwhile, have been given tough odds of 63/20. If one was to bet $1 on them to win, that result would get them a return of $4.15 – with a huge $3.15 profit.
*By BetUS At the time of writing
Kick-off Time
The game is set to kick off at 20:00 GMT and the referee for it will be Englishman Anthony Taylor.