A mouth-watering Europa League semi-final tie pits Roma against Bayer Leverkusen, with the first leg taking place at the Stadio Olimpico this week.
Roma performed an eye-catching second-leg comeback to overcome a 1-0 deficit and outscore Feyenoord 4-2 on aggregate en route to reaching the semi-finals of major European competition for the third season in a row. Last year’s Europa Conference League winners have since experienced a noticeable dip in form, going winless in four consecutive matches in all competitions (D2, L2), including a 2-0 home defeat to Inter Milan last weekend. With a coveted fourth place in Serie A now five points away, lifting the Europa League title could be Roma’s only way to secure Champions League qualification. With Jose Mourinho at the helm, the home side’s bid to maintain an impressive record of progressing from ten of their last 11 European knockout ties looks probable. Adding to this sentiment, ‘I Giallorossi’ have only lost one of their last 24 European fixtures at the Stadio Olimpico (W17, D6).
In the meantime, visiting Bayer Leverkusen ran out 5-2 aggregate winners against Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise to book their first appearance in the semi-finals of a major European competition since 2002. Seeking their first continental trophy since winning the 1987/88 UEFA Cup, ‘Die Werkself’ come into proceedings off the back of a 2-1 Bundesliga loss to Cologne that knocked them down from an outrageous 14-game unbeaten run in all competitions (W10, D4). But Xabi Alonso’s men haven’t lost any of their last nine competitive games outside the BayArena (W6, D3). That run includes three Europa League knockout wins, all of which saw them concede 2+ goals at an average of 2.66 per match. Against this backdrop, the Germans have gone winless on all six European trips to meet Italian sides in the 21st century (D1, L5).
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