Europa League: Mourinho Is Back on the Silverware Hunt

AS Roma vs Real Sociedad

Roma and Real Sociedad will meet for the first time on Thursday as the European heavyweights clash in the Europa League Round of 16.

There are some big hitters in the competition, including Premier League leaders Arsenal and Italian giants Juventus, and this tiestands among them as an eye-catching fixture.

The tie is finely balanced between two clubs which expect success, with Roma at SBOTOP odds of 1.85 to make it through to the quarter-finals and Real Sociedad 2.01.

Jose Mourinho’s Roma come into the game on the back of a huge 1-0 victory over Juventus, a result which took them into the top four of Serie A. Meanwhile, in the last round of La Liga games Imanol Alguacil’s Sociedad suffered a disappointment at home to Cadiz, drawing 0-0 to put their top-four place in La Liga under threat.

Talking Points

Juve win is timely for Roma

I Giallorossi were ticking along nicely a couple of weeks ago, beating Verona in the league and then seeing off Red Bull Salzburg in the Europa League with a 2-0 home victory. But then the wheels fell off as Roma managed to lose to relegation fodder Cremonese and Mourinho was red-carded during the 2-1 reversal.

Roma’s clash with Juventus was a chance for the Giallorossi to get back on track, and be undefeated in a campaign against Juve for the first time since 2004 and they took it. The Special One fielded a team without a Number Nine striker, leaving out Tammy Abraham and Andrea Belotti, preferring instead to allow Paulo Dybala a free role across the front. And while Dybala didn’t score, the setup worked and defender Gianluca Mancini won the game with a screamer.

Mourinho is a master tactician and he simply loves to win silverware, guiding Roma to Europa Conference League glory last season. He has won 14 of his home matches in the Europa League, drawing one and losing one and we can expect his team to go hard again on Thursday.

Silva back for Sociedad

Sociedad have been stuttering recently and it is no coincidence that former Manchester City star David Silva has been sidelined for the last few weeks. Sociedad had picked up just one win from the last four so his return to the squad for the match against Cadiz was a sight for sore eyes.

La Real drew a blank again, but Silva got some vital minutes under his belt, coming on as a 61^st-minute substitute. He showed some nice touches and his usual calmness carrying the ball, and he must be in line for a start against Roma. Iguacil can also welcome back Ander Guevera and Mohamed-Ali Cho to the squad, but Aritz Elustondo and Umar Sadiz remain sidelined.

Sociedad’s biggest goal threats to produce some Europa League 2023 highlights come from Norwegian striker Alexander Sorloth and captain Mikel Oyarzabal. Mourinho is sure to try to nullify the danger by protecting his defence, sitting Nemanja Matic in a deep-lying role and the La Real forwards will have to work hard for their chances.

History

Both sets of fans have reason to be optimistic.

Roma have lost just two of their last 33 home matches in European competition, though both defeats were against Spanish opposition, Real Madrid in 2018 and Real Betis in a 2-1 loss in this competition.

Sociedad won all three of their away group matches in this Europa League without conceding a single goal, including a 1-0 victory over tournament favourites Manchester United as Brais Mendez scored from the penalty spot.

We don’t have any historic head-to-head to guide us, but recent form has been patchy in both camps though Roma have been a little stronger with three wins, one draw, and two defeats from the last six games, while La Real have won just once, drawn three and lost two.

Roma have won four home matches in a row and I’m backing them to make it five.

Betting Tip

Roma and Sociedad are both decent outside bets for the whole tournament, at odds of 14.00 and 19.00 respectively, and the pre-match Europa League 2023 betting odds point to a tight game at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday.

The hosts are priced at 2.06 to take a first-leg lead, with the draw at 3.11 and an away win at 3.11. I think it will be Mourinho’s night and a narrow home victory will tee up the second leg nicely.

 

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