Roma vs FK Viktoria Plzen Predictions

Saturday brought a much improved display from Roma, who managed to claim a 3-1 win over Lazio in the Rome derby. After a shaky start to the season, the Italians have back to back wins to their name, and they’re on the charge to make it three on the bounce when they meet Viktoria Plzen. The Czech side sit above Roma in the group, after a 2-2 draw with CSKA Moscow in their opening game. On the same night, Roma were hammered 3-0 by Real Madrid, a score which doesn’t fully show the gulf between them that night. Can the Giallorossi bounce back from that loss with a win on Tuesday?

It was a tough way for Roma to follow up their run to the semis of this competition last season. They met the side who they would have gone on to meet in the final, and the gap between them was made clear. Eusebio Di Francesco’s side have made an awful start to this campaign, and they’ve found themselves off the pace in the race for the Champions League places. Their win at the weekend was a strong message that they’re back to their best, but the Giallorossi need to maintain that form here.

Meanwhile, Plzen are in the title mix in the Czech Republic, but they’re locked in the middle of a three-way fight for top spot. The Champions League isn’t a test for them like it is for Roma. The visitors are just here to enjoy the ride, and potentially steal a place in the Europa League. However, they’re going to need quite an upset to move closer to securing third here, with Roma heavy favourites for the points.

The hosts should follow up wins over Lazio and Frosinone with three points here. After all, they were excellent at home in this competition last season, even when their league form at home was shaky. The Champions League brings something out of Roma at home, and it led them to wins over Liverpool, Barcelona, Chelsea and Shakhtar Donetsk.

However, the issue for the hosts here is defensively. They conceded again when they met Lazio at the weekend, which means their only clean sheet in eight games came against Frosinone, Serie A’s lowest scorers. With that in mind, we expect Plzen to follow up on their two strikes in their first game in this group. Not only have Plzen scored in five of their last six games in this competition, but they scored home and away to Roma in 2016 when they last met, so we’re backing a home win and both teams to score.