Liverpool vs AS Roma
UEFA Champions League Semifinal 1st Leg
Date: Tuesday, 24th April 2018
Kick-off at 19:45 UK/ 20:45 CET
Venue: Anfield, Liverpool.
The stage is set for an exciting contest at Anfield on Tuesday when Liverpool welcome Roma for the first leg of the 2017-18 Champions League semifinal.
Very few expected these two teams to be in the semifinals of the competition as they were up against two elite sides on top form in the previous round. Liverpool got the better of their domestic rivals and just crowned English Premier League champions Manchester City with a pair of wins (3-0 home, 2-1 away).
Meanwhile, this Roma side created history by overturning a first leg 4-1 defeat at Barcelona with a 3-0 home win to dump the soon-to-be crowned Spanish Champions out of the competition.
Liverpool vs Roma: Head-to-head
Their last Champions League meeting happened during the 2001/2002 edition. The Reds bagged a 2-0 home win at Anfield before their visit to Rome ended goal-less.
Overall, five meetings between the sides so far and Liverpool had the better record with 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. The sole Roma win happened at Anfield back in 2001 UEFA Cup by 1-0 margin.
Liverpool’s home record against Italian teams is 6 wins and 4 losses from 10 games.
Roma often struggle in away games at the English soil, had so far managed 1 win from 16 outings, drawn 6 and lost 9.
Liverpool vs Roma: Predictions
The key point to consider here is Liverpool’s home record in all competitions this season. They are yet to lose one in Champions League this season as well as the Premier League and average 2.6 goals per game in combined 23 matches.
Roma on the other hand had issues against better teams on the road both in Europe and domestic league. They had won only 1 of their last 15 away games in Champions League and they conceded 2.4 goals per game during that period.
These are indicators that show us that the home side are better placed to grab a convincing win on Tuesday’s first leg semifinal tie. I will not be surprised if they bag a similar win as they did to Manchester City at this ground in the previous round of the competition.
Liverpool vs Roma: Bet Tips
FT – Liverpool to win @ 1.57 odd
Over 2.5 full-time goals at 1.60 odd.
[get_partner id=57394]Liverpool vs Roma Team News and Predicted Starting Elevens
Liverpool: Team News
Adam Lallana, Emre Can and Joel Matip are the players in the sidelines for the Reds.
Jordan Henderson is expected to start after missing the second leg of quarter final with Manchester City through suspension.
Liverpool: Predicted Starting Line-up (4-3-3)
Karius – Robertson, van Dijk, Lovren, Alexander-Arnold -Henderson, Milner, Chamberlain – Sane, Firmino, Salah.
Roma: Team News
The injured Rick Karsdorp and Gregoire Defrel are the two players missing for Eusebio Di Francesco in the trip to Liverpool.
Roma Predicted Starting Line-up (3-5-2)
Alisson – Jesus, Fazio, Manolas – Kolarov, Florenzi, Strootman, Nainggolan, De Rossi – Dzeko, Schick.
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