Bayer Leverkusen vs Roma

Serie A giants Roma head to the BayArena to meet Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen in the return leg of their Europa League semi-final tie, looking to defend a slender 1-0 advantage.

Last week’s heartbreaking defeat in Rome forms part of Bayer Leverkusen’s dreadful run of four winless games in all competitions (D2, L2), casting doubt on the Germans’ effort to qualify for a major European final in over two decades. What’s more, Xabi Alonso’s team netted a measly average of 0.5 goals per game during that stretch, highlighting the attack as a possible weak link. On the bright side, ‘Die Werkself’ have accrued five wins in their last seven competitive outings on home turf (D1, L1), with four of those triumphs yielding multi-goal margins. That bodes well for Leverkusen’s bid to turn this match-up on its head, even though they’ve bowed out in ten of their last 11 major European knockout ties after losing the first leg. But they’re winless in four consecutive European meetings with Roma (D2, L2).

On the other hand, Roma’s understrength line-up shared the spoils with Bologna in a tepid 0-0 draw last weekend, practically ending their hopes of securing Champions League qualification via Serie A. After winning the inaugural Europa Conference League tournament in 2021/22, ‘I Giallorossi’ are vying for only their second major continental title, inspired by an encouraging piece of history. Indeed, the Italians have advanced from 23 out of their 25 two-legged ties in major European competitions whenever they emerged victorious in the first leg. But Roma’s poor away form remains a reason for concern. They have claimed just one win in their last 11 competitive matches on hostile turf (D4, L6), netting under 1.5 goals on each occasion.