This Saturday, we are in for a plethora of interesting duels across Europe, and this time we have analyzed the match that will be played at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, where Roma will host Napoli.The match between these two teams is scheduled to start at 20:45.
Roma: Can the Romans Finally Secure a Spot in the Champions League?
Last year, Roma put all their efforts into winning the Europa League, as it’s known that besides the trophy, the team that wins this second-tier European club competition also earns the right to play in the next edition of the Champions League. However, in the grand final, the Italian representative was defeated by Sevilla, following a poorer penalty shootout performance.
It remains a mystery why José Mourinho shifted focus to the Europa League a few rounds before the end of the Italian championship, even though the Giallorossi had a realistic chance of qualifying for the elite competition through the league.
Regardless, this summer brought several very interesting transfers, with the biggest reinforcement for the former Italian champions undoubtedly being the signing of Lukaku, who reached the Champions League final last season with Inter.
José Mourinho, of course, remained at the helm, and the primary goal this time, as in several previous seasons, will be to qualify for the Champions League, and we can already say that it will not be an easy task.
At this moment, the club from the capital is in eighth place in the table, five points behind fourth-placed Fiorentina, who, to be fair, also has a game in hand, having celebrated a 0-1 victory at one of the toughest away games in Serie A – against Monza, last night.
In their last five matches, Roma has been quite inconsistent, achieving two victories, two draws, and one loss, the latter in the previous round away against Bologna, which has been delivering top-notch performances lately, as evidenced by their current fifth place in the table and the elimination of Inter from the Italian Cup.
Before that, Mourinho’s men drew at their stadium against Fiorentina, 1:1, leading to the conclusion that the Giallorossi have not exactly excelled in clashes against teams that are currently their direct competitors for that fourth position.
At home, the former Italian champions have played eight matches so far, securing five victories, two draws, and only one loss. As for head-to-head encounters with Napoli at the Olimpico, Roma last triumphed at their stadium in 2019, with a 2:1 score.
Napoli: Hard to Repeat Last Season!
Everyone in Naples will remember last season for a lifetime, as their beloved team won the Scudetto, something that even the biggest optimists could not have anticipated at the start of the season.
Napoli, led by Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia, clinched the Italian championship title, and the significant contribution of defender Kim, who has since signed for Bayern Munich, should not be forgotten.
However, the most deserving person for the Italian championship title is undoubtedly Luciano Spalletti, who interestingly decided to leave the club after winning the title.
He was replaced by Rudi Garcia, which turned out to be anything but a good move, and after Garcia’s dismissal, Walter Mazzarri became the coach of Napoli for the second time, facing the tough task of leading the team from the foot of Vesuvius to another Champions League qualification.
Speaking of the most prestigious European club competition, it’s worth mentioning that the Italian representative secured a place in the knockout phase of the Champions League, which was certainly one of the primary goals for this part of the season.
In the end, Napoli finished second in the table, and in the key match for advancing further, Osimhen and company defeated Braga at their stadium.
As for Serie A, it seems that the current Italian champions can and must do much better, and the current situation is such that the team from the “Diego Armando Maradona” stadium is in sixth place in the table, three points behind fourth-placed Fiorentina, who, as we already mentioned, also has a game in hand.
In their last five matches in the top tier of Italian football, Napoli players achieved two victories and suffered three defeats, so it seems that the coaching change has not brought anything new to the Neapolitans.
In the previous round, however, this team managed to defeat Cagliari at their stadium, with the match at the “Maradona” ending 2:1.
So far, Napoli has played eight away games, recording five victories, two draws, and only one loss, at Juventus (1:0), making Napoli the second-best away team in Serie A, after the undisputed Inter.
Our Suggestion
If we take a look at the tradition, we come to the conclusion that recent duels between these two teams have not produced many goals, and considering how Mourinho sets up matches against Italian giants, it’s likely that there won’t be many goals here, so we advise opting for the bet of 0-2 goals, which the BetBonanza Nigeria pays with an odd of 1.74.
Roma must go all out in this duel, as a new defeat would significantly distance the Romans from the fight for a place in the Champions League, which has been the primary goal for years. However, it might be somewhat ambitious to try with a clean 1 here, but the double chance 1X is quite tempting and BetBonanza pays 1.53.
Finally, we advise you to try the combination 1X&0-3, which the Betbonanza Nigeria pays with an odd of 1.96.
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