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The action heats up in the Europa League this week, as the semi-finals get underway. Jose Mourinho’s Roma will have home advantage for the first leg, as the Italian giants take on Bayer Leverkusen.

Before Betting On Roma vs Bayer Leverkusen

The standout tie in the semi-finals of the Europa League this season will see Roma and Bayer Leverkusen collide. This will be the fifth clash between the two sides in European competition, with each teams having found the net in the past four. Both sides have also registered a win apiece in the previous clashes between the two sides.

Roma last played at home against Leverkusen back in the Champions League group stages in November 2015. On that occasion, the Italian giants landed a 3-2 win, with Edin Dzeko and Mohamed Salah among the scorers for Roma. This is also the third straight season in which Roma has reached the last four of a European competition. Last season, they reached this stage on their way to winning the Europa Conference League.

Leverkusen has been one of the standout sides in Europe since play resumed following the World Cup. The German side will be competing in a major European semi-final for the fourth time in their history. They have only been eliminated at this stage on one previous occasion. However, this is their first appearance at this stage of a European competition since making the final of the 2001-02 Champions League.

Leverkusen certainly appears to have the attacking players that could cause issues for Roma on Thursday, but they will need to defend better than they have in recent Bundesliga outings if they are to take a first leg advantage.

Roma vs Bayer Leverkusen Europa League Offshore Odds

Offshore SportsbookRomaDrawLeverkusen
BetOnline2.123.403.70
Bovada2.103.403.55
BetUS2.103.353.55
SportsBetting.ag2.123.403.70
MyBookie2.063.333.65

There is little separating the sides in the head-to-head record, but it could be worth taking a chance on over 2.5 goals, given that there has been an average of 4.8 goals per game in previous clashes. Roma has been excellent in knockout ties over recent years, and we could see them taking a first leg advantage back to Germany.