Roma v Chelsea Predictions & Betting Odds – 31st October 2017

Giallorossi to upset Blues in Rome?

Chelsea
Chelsea © GEPA pictures

Roma v Chelsea Betting Preview – UEFA Champions League 31st October 7.45pm

If Chelsea can take a win against Roma on Tuesday night in the UEFA Champions League then they will be heading to the round of sixteen. That’s all they need to guarantee themselves a top two place, however, they failed to get the better of the Italians at Stamford Bridge a fortnight ago. Can Chelsea go and complete the job by picking up a victory? This won’t be an easy game for them though because Roma knows that they can take control at the top of a group with a home victory and they showed that they can easily match up against their Premier League opponents. This should be quite the duel in Rome.

Roma v Chelsea 2017 Infographic

Roma v Chelsea Betting Tips

Roma can be pretty pleased with their output at Stamford Bridge in the first group meeting with Chelsea as they battled to a 3-3 draw and exposed the weak Chelsea back line well. Now they will move above the Blues to the top of the group if they can take a home win over the Premier League side. They have been in great form this season and despite those three goals given up at the Bridge, they are solid at the back. They have seven clean sheets in ten Serie A games for example. The Giallorossi start two points back of Chelsea having collected five points from their three Group C games so far. Their only home game in the group stage so far this season saw them play out a credible 0-0 draw with Atletico Madrid. Under 2.5 goals at Paddy Power fetches a price of 23/20. Roma have hosted Chelsea just once before and won 3-1 back in the 2008/09 Group Stage.

Edin Dzeko, last season’s Serie A leading scorer, is an 11/10 anytime goalscorer option at Paddy Power. Roma haven’t enjoyed a great sequence of form in the UEFA Champions League and their match day two win at Karabakh was only their first win in eight UEFA Champions League matches. The 0-0 draw that they played out with Atletico Madrid means that they have collected only the one win in their last eight UEFA Champions League home matches (including qualifying) losing four of those eight. Roma’s record at home to English clubs is W8 D3 L4 and the Italians were on a three match winning streak at home against Premier League opposition before Man City went there in the 2014/15 Group Stage and won. Both teams to score in this fixture at Paddy Power fetches a price of 1/2 as Chelsea did expose what is a good Roma defence.

If Chelsea can go and collect the win in Rome, then they will get a place in the next round of the competition with a couple of games to spare. That would be great breathing space for them. But after being challenged so hard at the Bridge by the Italians, can they get that win though? The last time that Chelsea went to Italy was to face Juventus in the 2012/13 Group Stage, and the Blues lost that 3-0 in Turin. Chelsea have only the one win in nine previous visits to Italy (W1 D3 L5) and they are on a three match losing streak in Italy as well since that lone win back at Lazio in the 2003/04 Group Stage. Along with the draw with Roma, Chelsea have hammered Karabakh and beaten Atletico Madrid. In the Paddy Power correct score market a Chelsea 2-1 win is a price of 9/1, the same quote as a Roma 2-1 and only the 1-1 result is shorter at 11/2.

The win at Atletico Madrid, thanks to a last minute touch from Michy Batshuayi, was their fourth win in their last nine European away fixtures (D3 L2) so they are a pretty reliable side. The Blues took a solid win at Bournemouth in the Premier League on the weekend to improve their form there. On each of their last three appearances in the Champions League group stage, they have won their group and a point out of this one would leave them still set up well to go and land another this season. If they were to draw again with Roma, they would still top the group by two points, even if Atletico Madrid were to beat Karabakh on the same night. Alvaro Morata is the 11/10 Paddy Power anytime goalscorer favourite for the match, and he could have had a hattrick against Bournemouth on the weekend, but luck wasn’t on his side. There may not be too much between them and you can back one or the other to win only by a one goal margin at Paddy Power for a price of 7/2.

Roma v Chelsea Betting Odds

Chelsea 13/8, Roma 6/4, Draw 13/5

Roma v Chelsea Predictions

Roma to win: The Italians were the better of the two sides in London and they could make home advantage count in this one and make Chelsea sweat a little longer on qualification. They found plenty of holes in the Chelsea back line to exploit the English side.