FEYENOORD host Roma in the first leg of the Europa League play-off on Thursday in Rotterdam.
The Dutch side look nailed on for runners-up spot in the Eredivisie this season having dropped ten points behind an exceptional PSV Eindhoven side who sit unbeaten at the top of the league.
They won their last two games against AZ Alkmaar and the derby against Sparta Rotterdam and their last defeat in any competition was a 2-1 loss to Celtic in December.
They fell out of the Champions League by finishing third in their group behind Atletico Madrid and Lazio and they are far stronger at De Kuip having lost all three games away from home.
They play a Roma side who are now under the stewardship of 117-times capped former Italy star Daniele De Rossi, who took over from the sacked Jose Mourinho last month.
They sit in a disappointing sixth place in Serie A having already lost eight league games this season. The latest came at the weekend when they went down to a 4-2 home defeat to Inter Milan.
In Europe, they won four of their six games in the group stages of the Europa League and their only loss was at Slavia Prague. They defeated Servette and Sherif Tiraspol.
How the bookies view it
Home advantage means Feyenoord are favourites here at evens generally although there's a spot of 21/20 with Coral.
Roma are 11/4 with Paddy Power and the draw is 13/5 with bet365.
Recent head to heads
The sides met in the Europa Conference League Final of two years ago in Tirana, Albania and the Italians came on top in a 1-0 win.
They then played in the following year's Europa League and it was a home win apiece – 4-1 in Italy and 1-0 in the Netherlands.
Players to watch
Santiago Gimenez boasts an impressive scoring record for Feyenoord – he has 34 goals in 41 starts in the league for his club. However, he's on something of an unusual drought having only scored once in his last six games. He is 7/5 to score on Thursday with bet365.
Stephan El Shaarawy netted in the weekend defeat to Inter for Roma and it would have been very welcome – it was only his third of the season for Roma. He is is 21/4 to score anytime on Thursday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Feyenoord may not have enough to win the tie, but they are strong at home and can take a first leg lead to Italy at least.
De Kuip is something of a fortress to them with an outstanding atmosphere that drives them on. Roma have the worst defence of the top 13 teams in Serie A and concede too many goals.
They have kept just one clean sheet in their last 11 games and the hosts can hit the net at least twice here at 21/20 with William Hill.
This UEFA Europa League match between Feyenoord and Roma will be played on Feb 15, 2024 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best Feyenoord vs Roma prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
