Roma vs Brighton Odds: UEL Round of 16, Leg 1
Seagulls Make Knockout Stage Debut
Roma Down Feyenoord in Penalties
AS Roma have been resurgent under Daniele De Rossi and they head into the Europa League round of 16 with a lot of confidence. Roma won 4-1 in Serie A over the weekend and they downed Feyenoord in penalties in the UEL Knockout Play-off. On Thursday, Roma host Brighton in the round of 16 first leg at the Stadio Olimpico.
Brighton are making their knockout stage debut in European competition but they have an exciting squad. The Seagulls’ manager, Roberto De Zerbi, is quite familiar with Serie A opposition from his time with Sassuolo. Ahead of Thursday’s exciting UEL matchup, we’ll preview the Roma vs Brighton odds.
Roma vs Brighton
Day/Time:
Location: Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy
Roma vs Brighton Head-to-Head
This is the first-ever opportunity to bet on the Europa League game odds between Roma and Brighton. Brighton are coming up against Italian opposition for the first time. Meanwhile, Roma are 4-3-3 in their last ten matches vs English teams.
Roma Show Improvement Under De Rossi
On Saturday, Roma improved to 6-2-1 since Daniele De Rossi took over coaching duties in mid January. The Giallorossi were ruthless in their match at Monza and took a 4-0 lead 82 minutes in.
Lorenzo Pellegrini opened the scoring and Romelu Lukaku, Paulo Dybala and Leandro Paredes all found themselves among the goals as well. Andrea Carboni scored a screamer for Monza to make it 4-1. Perhaps the most impressive development since De Rossi took over is Roma’s road form.
Under Jose Mourinho, Roma were 2-2-6 on the road in Serie A. Since Mourinho departed the club, Roma are a perfect 3-0 in road Serie A games and unbeaten away from home, in all competitions. While the Giallorossi head to England next week, they’ll covet a victory at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday.
They drew both of their Europa League fixtures 1-1 vs Feyenoord in the knockout Play-off and the match went into extra time and penalties. In the shootout Roma keeper Mile Svilar made two saves and the Giallorossi grabbed a 4-2 win. Recall that Roma made European finals in both of Mourinho’s full seasons as coach.
At the moment, the Roma vs Brighton odds list the Giallorossi as +115 favorites for this match. They’ve won just one of their last five Europa League matches but seem to get things done when it matters most. For Thursday’s match, defender Rick Karsdorp is listed as doubtful and striker Tammy Abraham is out.
Brighton Hit Rough Patch
Last week was arguably Brighton’s worst of the 2023-24 season thus far. It was just the second time they lost back-to-back matches this season and the first time they failed to score in consecutive matches. First, Brighton fell 1-0 at Wolves in the FA Cup fifth round.
Then, they lost 3-0 at Craven Cottage to Fulham as the hosts were simply more clinical. Brighton have dominated possession in most matches they’ve played but having more of the ball doesn’t always show up on the scoresheet.
Teenage prodigy Evan Ferguson missed a few big chances vs Fulham and expect the Irish international to be motivated come Thursday. Two of Brighton’s brightest attacking talents, Kaoru Mitoma and Joao Pedro, are both out injured, which certainly isn’t making matters easier.
Brighton’s impressive Europa League scores in the group stage were, in no small part, made possible by Pedro, who scored four winning or game-tying goals.
In any case, Brighton’s scoring is much too inconsistent. Before the pair of losses, Brighton had a ten game stretch in which they alternated between scoring four or more goals and scoring one goal or failing to score.
Along with Mitoma and Pedro, Solly March, Jack Hinshelwood and James Milner are out. Meanwhile, Tariq Lamptey and Danny Welbeck are doubts for Brighton.
Roma vs Brighton Match Analysis & Odds
This could end up being the best fixture of the Europa League round of 16, especially given Brighton’s unpredictability. In their first-ever appearance in European competition it’ll be interesting to see if Brighton can keep up with one of Europe’s most historic clubs.
After all, the Seagulls did win a group that also included Marseille and Ajax.
Here, the Roma vs Brighton odds list the Giallorossi as +115 favorites, which implies this could be quite a competitive match. The Seagulls come in as +220 underdogs and they managed to go an unbeaten 2-1-0 on the road in the group stage. Even without Mitoma and Pedro, they certainly have the potential to score goals.
Meanwhile, Roma have only lost to Serie A leaders Inter Milan since De Rossi was appointed. Roma pk, -0.5 comes in at -112, while bettors can take Brighton pk, +0.5 at -115. A draw (+270) would be quite a welcome result for De Zerbi and Brighton.
Last week Paulo Dybala scored four goals in two games for Roma and the Seagulls will need to try to shut him down. Under 2.5, 3 goals are priced at -120 odds for what should be an entertaining clash.
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