Roma v Bayer Leverkusen
Wednesday 4th November – Kickoff: 1945hrs
Football – Europe – Champions League
The first meeting between these two clubs ended 4-4 in what was easily the match of the Champions League so far. Defences were breached throughout the 90 minutes and the sheer randomness was illustrated by the fact that both teams held a two goal lead at one point in the game – a lead which neither was capable of maintaining. The point apiece means Leverkusen remain a point clear of their opponents, and occupying the all-important second place, three points adrift of Barcelona. The close proximity of these two means that the clash on Wednesday could be crucial to determining who qualifies for the knockout stage.
For much of Rudi Garcia’s time in charge at Roma, their style and approach has been pragmatic and even criticised for being too negative. That’s certainly not been the case in the first few months of this season, however, as the club from the Italian capital are the current top scorers in Serie A with 25 goals, and have also netted seven in three Champions League games. Compare that to last season where they managed eight in their six group games, and scored 54 in the whole of their domestic league campaign, then it is a noticeable change in approach. Of course, their more adventurous style comes at a cost, and that has been to the detriment of their defensive record, which was in evidence in Germany two weeks ago.
It has been a season blighted by inconsistency for Leverkusen, which will be a source of real frustration for manager Roger Schmidt. That inconsistency was evident in the home game with Roma having taking a two goal lead in the first 20 minutes only to concede four goals before rescuing a point with a two goal salvo in the last five minutes. The naivety shown at times will be a concern for the Schmidt, but he has to shoulder some of the responsibility, too. With the margins so right in terms of battling for second place in Group E, the Bundesliga club can ill-afford to defend so badly in their next three games if they wish to qualify for the last-16. Ironically, their best defensive display came in the Nou Camp – where so many visiting teams crumble.
Both teams will have to get over disappointing defeats in their domestic leagues at the weekend, with Roma losing 1-0 to Inter Milan and Leverkusen going down 2-1 at Wolfsburg. A win on Wednesday would certainly go some way to compensating for those losses, and may well see the victor qualify for the much heralded elimination phase of the Champions League. We may only be at the halfway stage heading into this one, but taking into account that their final two games are against BATE and Barcelona, it is difficult to see there being a significant difference in the number of points that they collect following this.
Roma v Bayer Leverkusen Betting Tips
It may be unrealistic to expect a repeat of the eight goal thriller a fortnight ago, but there is likely to be plenty of attacking intent on show, just the same. Roma have scored two or more goals in five of their last six home games, and have not been beaten at the Stadio Olimpico since March. Leverkusen have won just one of their last five away games in the Bundesliga, conceding three against Bayern and Dortmund. Their only away game in the group stage ended in a narrow 2-1 loss against Barcelona whilst they lost 1-0 at the play-off stage in this very stadium against Roma’s arch rivals, Lazio.
I was very close to selecting a Roma win but decided against it due to the craziness of the first meeting between these two. Instead, having watched the game against Inter at the weekend, I was impressed with the number of chances Garcia’s men created. They may nit have found the net on that occasion but it was a further indication of how much more intent there is in this team compared to recent seasons. Leverkusen have proven time and time again that they are liable to give the opposition chances and with that in mind, the odds on Roma to score two or more goals are more appealing than there to be three or more goals in the match as a whole.
Over 1.5 Roma team goals 20/23 @ Boylesports
