As the team aims to reach the UEFA Europa League final and tries to shake off the unwanted label of “Neverkusen,” Bayer needs to bounce back from their 0-1 defeat in the first leg against Roma. Coach Habi Alonso stated that “nothing is lost” after the setback in the Eternal City, but the hosts have lost form at the most inconvenient moment, failing to win any of their last four matches. Returning to the BayArena should ignite the fire, as Leverkusen has won five out of their last seven home matches in all competitions. Indeed, the recent defeat against Cologne in the last round was disappointing, giving Alonso’s team something to work on to return to the path of victory, especially since they have lost all of their last seven UEFA encounters against Italian teams—a streak that should end here and today if they want to reach the European final for the first time since 2002. Today, Schick, Lunev, Kosunov, Bellarabi, and Andrich will not be able to take the field due to injuries.
Jose Mourinho has led his team to the brink of a second European final in two years, and with the “Giallorossi” boasting an impressive record of winning ten out of their last 11 European matches, after a 1-0 success in the first home match, he will certainly be confident that they will make it to the final in Budapest this year. However, their only defeat did come against a Bundesliga club, so Mourinho will have something to worry about, and Roma has failed to score in their last three away matches in the Europa League. Additionally, a minimal defeat will take the match into extra time, which will be another huge challenge for a team that, according to Mourinho, has “reached its limit”. Moreover, the capital side is clearly tired, as shown in their recent encounter against Bologna (0-0). In this clash, Smolning, Dybala, Llorente, Kumbulla, Karsdorp, and El Shaarawy will not be able to take the field due to a muscle injury. More soccer football prediction can be obtained from the link provided.
