AS ROMA v LYON
Thursday 16th March 2017 – Kickoff: 2005hrs
Football – Europe – Europa League Betting Tips
The Stadio Olimpico is the venue for my next pick which features the second leg in the round of 16 in the Europa League between hosts AS Roma and visitors Lyon as the home side look to run down a 2-goal deficit following last week’s defeat in France.
The 4-2 defeat to Lyon away from home in the first leg of this tie was Roma’s third loss on the trot following defeats to Lazio in the Coppa Italia and Napoli in Serie A, but the hosts did manage all three points in Sunday’s 3-0 win away at Palermo which would have been a timely boost to their confidence.
Roma’s results at home in the Europa League have been inconsistent as they’ve won three, drawn three and lost three of their last nine matches at Stadio Olimpico. But striker Edin Dzeko (20 goals), assisted by goalscoring midfielders Nainggolan, Saleh and Perotti might see the home side over the line here this evening.
Visitors Lyon come into this encounter in excellent form having disposed of Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in the previous round, quite simply destroying them 11-2 on aggregate. The visitors are also on a run of seven matches without defeat in all competitions, so confidence will no doubt be high in their camp right now.
But a look at Lyon’s results away from home in the Europa League will tell you that their path to the quarter-finals is by no means guaranteed as they’ve gained just four wins on the road from their last 11 on their travels.
Despite Lyon winning last time away from home 4-1 at AZ, I’m expecting a much better performance from the hosts Roma here, and so I’ll give the quarter-ball on them in this one.
Pick: Roma AH-0.25 @ 1.53 Unibet
