Europe Europa League Semifinals - 1st Leg

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Roma vs Bayer Leverkusen Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Roma:
Svilar; Karsdorp, Mancini, Ndicka, Angelino; Cristante, Paredes, Pellegrini; Dybala, Lukaku, El Shaarawy

Bayer Leverkusen:
Hradecky; Kossounou, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Palacios, Xhaka, Grimaldo; Wirtz, Adli; Schick

Roma have eliminated Feyenoord, Brighton and Milan in the previous stages of the competition. The home advantage was evident in all three matches as they registered three victories. One of them was really impressive - a 4:0 win against Premier League side. New coach Danielle de Rossi restored the players confidence once lost in Mourinho's time. But de Rossi has some injury and suspension worries ahead of this match. Right-back Zeki Celik was sent off in the second leg against Milan and now serve a suspension. Romelu Lukaku, who missed out the last game with Napoli due to injury, has recovered. However, he has a competition for the starting place as Sardar Azmoun and Tammy Abraham are in solid form. Captain Lorenzo Pellegrini is set to overcome a minor muscular problem to feature in midfield. Chris Smalling should return from his latest injury in time for this match. His availability is very important here because Rasmus Kristensen and Dean Huijsen were not included in the squad list for the knockout stages. On the positive note, Diego Llorente and Leandro Paredes are both available after serving domestic suspensions in Serie A.

Bayer Leverkusen are between the most successful teams in Europe this season. They have secured the Bundesliga title and they are looking for Europa League final. The players confidence is very high as they are unbeaten in 46 games in all competitions this season, of which they have won some 38. Coach Xabi Alonso is doing a fantastic job and the fans are pleased. It's not easy to be better than Bayern Munich in Germany. Leverkusen were superior and the title is fully deserved. The Spaniard is loved by the fans, even more as he decided to stay in the club for another year. Bayer have a trip to Berlin later this month to play DFB-Pokal final, in which they are big favorites against Kaiserslautern. This is a historic chance for a treble. Alonso has almost all players available for this match, including key midfielder Granit Xhaka who skip the weekend's draw against Stuttgart through a suspension. That means the Saturday hero Robert Andrich, who scored the stoppage time equalizer, could drop from the starting eleven. In addition, Adam Hlozek and Borja Iglesias are injury doubts for the visitors.

Roma vs Bayer Leverkusen Prediction:

I think Roma will not lose at home. De Rossi have players able to make a difference. First of all is Europa League specialist Romelu Lukaku - who has scored seven goals in this season's competition and 27 times overall. Furthermore, Sardar Azmoun and Tammy Abraham will be reserves, but they are in solid form at the moment and each of them is ready to contribute. And don't forget Dybala and his class. Leverkusen are also dangerous and they have Florian Wirtz. No player has created more chances from open play (24) in this term's tournament than Wirtz. However, he is young and I think he will be silenced at Olimpico.

Roma vs Bayer Leverkusen Pick: Roma +0.5 AH @ 1.78 with Pinnacle