BATE vs Roma Betting Tips

Roma earned a hard fought and well-deserved draw at home against Barcelona in their opening Champions League group match two weeks ago. Meanwhile, BATE were crushed 4-1 by German side Bayer Leverkusen. They’ve now got the task of proving that they are not Group E’s minnows as they prepare for a home clash against Roma.

Roma did beat Carpi at the weekend, but their domestic form has generally been a little erratic. They have a lot of possession, create a lot of chances, but they’re not always the best at taking those chances and at times they have also been exposed defensively.

Their Belarusian opponents, BATE, have done a pretty good job to get to this stage at all. They did look a little exposed against Leverkusen in their first group game though. There’s an added level of quality and amount of damage that Europe’s best teams can do when they have possession. It was pretty evident in that game.

The match-up will come down to whether BATE can be more effective at home, which has been true through qualifying and in general. Can they clog up the middle of the field against Roma?

Three Reasons for Betting Tips

1. Roma have better rhythm

They looked like a different side against Carpi, it might not be a perfect testament to their likely performance in this match, but they looked like a team that had worked things out.

2. BATE are not quite good enough

We don’t expect any of the three teams to enjoy an easy trip to Belarus, even Barcelona, but we do think that they are in danger of losing all three games. This is a step up and a tough group.

3. Straight odds look good

It’s hard to argue that the odds don’t look good for Roma here. They are 8/11 against an opponent that they should beat nine times out of ten. Home field advantage does count for something, but it’s worth a bet here.