SEVILLA and Roma resume their respective bids for Europa League glory on Thursday night when they meet in a one-off clash at the MSV-Arena.
Both respective sides come into this one-legged affair off the back of equally impressive seasons with Sevilla comfortably taking fourth spot in La Liga while Roma finished fifth in Serie A.
Sevilla's season concluded in mid-July whereas Roma signed off from Serie A in style when turning over Italian champions Juventus 3-1 in Turin last Saturday (below).
The Giallorossi have made giant strides under the stewardship of manager Paulo Fonseca who looks set to have Roma competing for Champions League qualification next term.
The capital club avoided defeat in each of their final eight Italian top-flight assignments but they will be coming up against a Sevilla side who are in the midst of a splendid 17 match unbeaten run.
What's more, Los Nervionenses will be looking to continue their long-standing love affair with the Europa League having lifted the trophy three times on the spin under Unai Emery.
Outright Betting
Sevilla have lost just one of their last 13 Europa league matches and the Spanish outfit start this showdown as 13/10 favourites with Bet 365.
Roma are an unfancied 9/4 with Bet 365 while an all-square affair – an outcome that would set up extra-time and potential penalty-kicks – pays 23/10 with Betfred.
Betting Angles
Both of these sides come into this bout in brilliant form but something has to give and I suspect an open and entertaining affair could be in store at the MSV -Arena.
Roma have racked up 28 goals across their last eight matches and – an average of 2.8 per-game – and they will be faced with a Sevilla side who have averaged just under two goals per-game in the Europa League this season.
It's also worth noting eight of Roma's nine league games since the restart saw both teams get on the scoresheet, with Fonsecas's side finding hitting the back of the net at least twice in all but one of those fixtures.
Indeed, Sevilla are a well-schooled side under Julen Lopetegui's astute management – only the two Madrid giants boasted a better defensive record than Seviila last term, – however, I'm happy to back free-scoring Roma to make the net bulge on Thursday evening.
Having said that, at the other end of the park the Romans have recorded a mere one clean sheet in their last 13 attempts and they will be without key centre-half Chris Smalling who's loan spell has come to an end.
With all that in mind, value could lie with the 5/6 on offer with SportNation for both teams to score – a punt that would have paid out in eight of Roma's last nine matches.
Whether or not both teams notch remains to be seen, however, I suspect we could see at least a couple of strikes in this tussle and I'm going to delve into William Hill's Build Your Odds feature with the view to backing over 1.5 match goals, over 6.5 match corners and 40+ booking points at 4/5 (William Hill).
No team averaged more corners than Sevilla in La La Liga last season while Roma averaged the highest corner count in Italy and I'm happy to throw in 40+ booking points in what should be a closely-fought and competitive contest.
This UEFA Europa League match between Sevilla and Roma will be played on Aug 6, 2020 and kick off at 17:55. Check below for our tipsters best Sevilla vs Roma prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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