Roma vs Red Bull Salzburg Predictions

• Roma have won five of their last six home games, each without conceding
• Roma have won six of their last nine home European games, four with clean sheets
• Salzburg have lost four of their last six away European matches

Roman temperament can send Salzburg packing

Roma have enough nous to come through a tight Europa League playoff tie with Red Bull Salzburg as they attempt to overcome a 1-0 first-leg deficit at the Olimpico.

Last Thursday’s game in Austria was not a classic and a draw would probably have been a fairer reflection of how the game went. Jose Mourinho’s men could not convert the best chances of either half and were beaten by a late sucker punch of a header from Nicolas Capaldo.

The Giallorossi subsequently overcame Verona 1-0 at home to move back into the top four of Serie A, but they will again have to cope without leading striker Tammy Abraham this week as he recovers from an eye injury. There was not a great deal of quality on show against Verona, but one moment was all it took for them to beat their struggling visitors.

Winning to nil becoming a habit for Giallorossi

Winning to nil at home is becoming a nice habit for Roma and that may be their preferred mode of getting through this round, although Salzburg will have other ideas. Their German coach Matthias Jaissle was able to rest six of his first-leg starters at the weekend as they ran out 3-1 winners over Tirol.

Salzburg are not as streetwise as their hosts, however, and any greater freshness for this clash will probably be outweighed by the big-game temperament Roma have honed over the course of their Europa Conference League-winning campaign last season.

Backing the hosts to win in 90 minutes seems a solid play given they have won six of their last nine home European games and Salzburg have lost four of their last six on the road. But it may be worth taking Mourinho’s men to win to nil too for the odds boost to around 6/4.