Leverkusen – Roma

Bayer Leverkusen will take on AS Roma at BayArena in a crucial Champions League Group E clash. With Bayer and Roma likely to fight for the second place, neither team can afford to lose this one.

The Germans will be very disappointing by losing last round at Barcelona, despite leading most of the match. Even a draw would have been a massive result, particularly as Roma lost to BATE Borisov, but the Germans could not capitalize. The match at Camp Nou was the only defeat for Bayer in their last 5 matches, but recent draws against Augsburg and Hamburg in the last two games haven`t been great results.

Roma’s defeat at BATE Borisov was a real shock, erasing all the advantage gained after drawing against Barca in the first round. It was a horrible match for Roma, but at least they came back from 0-3 to 2-3, showing some character. The Italians have a decent season so far, they are second in the Serie A, winning their last two matches, including 3-1 over Empoli on Saturday. Of course, even more is expected from them after the massive investments made over the summer.

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Team news & lineups:

Leverkusen will not have Aranguis and Hilbert, but Kampl, Bender, Jedvaj and Toprak could alsoo miss from the lineup. Roma won`t be able to count on Totti, Strootman, Keita and Capdarossi, with Dzeko doubtful and likely to come off the bench.

Leverkusen: Leno – Donati, Tah, Papadopoulos, Wendell – Kramer – Mehmedi, Kampl, Bellarabi, Calhanoglu – Chicharito

AS Roma: Szczesny – Florenzi, Manolas, Rudiger, Digne – Pjanic, De Rossi, Nainggolan – Salah, Iturbe, Gervinho

I don`t think Leverkusen deserves to be priced so low here, Roma is a better team overall and should be able to escape with a point at BayArena, if not with all three. If Roma knows something, it`s how to avoid losing and in such a key match I am sure they will use that ability to its fullest in order to get a result – especially after what happened in Belarus. Leverkusen has not been too sharp in front of goal recently, they had many up and downs this season, so it won`t be easy for them to take on a brilliant tactical team like Roma.

Expect the visitors to play a cagey match with top discipline and tactical consistency, not giving too many opportunities to Leverekusen. The Germans are also struggling with injuries, which will be a problem, as they don`t have Roma’s amazing depth. My tip is AS Roma +0,5. Prediction: Bayer Leverkusen – AS Roma 1-1.

Pick: Roma +0,5
Odds: 2.00 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 8
Event date: 20 October