Roma vs RB Salzburg – Analysis, Prediction, Team News

As part of our Europa League predictions, we examine RB Salzburg’s visit to Stadio Olimpico. RB Salzburg take a 1-0 lead into the second leg after a game that could have gone either way. Can Roma erase the deficit and win the tie? Read on with our Roma vs RB Salzburg prediction.

Roma vs RB Salzburg Match Preview

Last season’s inaugural Europa Conference League champions AS Roma find themselves in the position of needing to win this playoff tie after their Europa League campaign got off on entirely the wrong foot in the form of a 2-1 defeat away to Ludogorets. A 2-1 home defeat against eventual Group C winners Real Betis essentially sealed their fate, as although they were able to earn a draw in Seville, a victory in that game would not have changed the overall standings.

At the weekend, Roma rested a few starters and had Dybala out with a thigh niggle for the game against Hellas Verona, where they eked out a not-entirely convincing 1-0 victory via Solbakken’s winner. That victory leaves Roma third in the table, ahead of fourth-placed Milan on goal difference and three points behind Inter.

Following a promising start to their Champions League campaign which saw RB Salzburg in contention to qualify for the knockout stage for the second successive season, the Austrians promptly lost their final two Group E matches to drop down into the Europa League playoff round. Firstly, against Chelsea at home via a 2-1 scoreline, followed by a 4-0 rout at the hands of AC Milan. Up until that juncture, Salzburg had been steady if not impressive, holding both Milan and Chelsea and gaining four points against Dinamo Zagreb – though the 1-1 draw in Zagreb made their task all the more difficult for the remaining fixtures.

RB Salzburg also rested a number of key players for last weekend’s domestic game against Tirol Innsbruck, most notably their first-choice strikeforce Okafor and Fernando. We can describe their performance as efficient but not terribly impressive as they barely got out of second gear to extend their lead to six points at the top of the Austrian Bundesliga.

In the reverse fixture at the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg, Salzburg came out with a hard-fought victory that could have gone either way. Both sides had their openings and Roma will feel a bit hard done by that they had a goalbound effort bounce off the line. While the xG statistic doesn’t always tell the full story, Roma outshone their hosts here by 1.42 to 0.85, and they’ll hope to impose themselves upon the Austrians even more at the Stadio Olimpico.

Team News

Injuries and Suspensions

Roma:

Might Not Play: Abraham, Dybala

Will Not Play: Darboe

RB Salzburg:

Might Not Play:

Will Not Play: Guindo, Okoh, Omeregie, Tijani

Roma vs RB Salzburg Lineups (Predicted)

Roma (3-4-2-1): Patricio; Ibanez, Smalling, Mancini; Spinazzola, Cristante, Matic, Zalewski; Pellegrini, Dybala; Abraham

RB Salzburg (4-3-1-2) Kohn; Bernardo, Solet, Pavlovic, Dedic; Capaldo, Gourna-Douati, Seiwald; Sucic; Okafor, Fernando

Our Prediction

Though RB Salzburg head into this match protecting a 1-0 lead, we feel that Roma will again be able to create the better chances and this time they’ll probably take them. The return of the impressive Spinazzola at left wing-back should provide the Serie A side with a new dimension to their counter-attacking play.

Asides from a shock 2-1 Coppa Italia defeat to Cremonese in which Roma rested several key players, Mourinho’s side have won their other five home matches against Bologna, Fiorentina, Empoli and Verona in the league and Genoa in the Coppa Italia without conceding a single goal. However, we expect that due to the fact that Roma will have to chase this match and perhaps be more aggressive in their attacking approach than they would normally like, Salzburg will score themselves.

Extra-time beckons here. We don’t envisage Roma scoring more than twice (barring a red card, a couple of penalties etc) – they’re generally not set up for that kind of swashbuckling attacking play. We also can’t envisage Salzburg breaching Roma’s defence more than once at the Stadio Olimpico, so while nothing is guaranteed in football, this is one of the easier games to predict as a 2-1 home win.

Roma 2-1 RB Salzburg

Roma vs RB Salzburg Betting Tip – Roma Odds: