Barcelona vs Roma Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Just under four months ago a star studded Barcelona side visited the Stadio Olimpico expecting a rather straightforward evening. They were 4-1 up on aggregate against Roma in the Champions League quarter final, and nobody expected a comeback from the underdogs. What followed was one of the highlights of an already incredible season of European football, with Edin Dzeko, Daniele De Rossi, and Kostas Manolas hitting three without reply past the La Liga giants to send Roma through to the semi-finals on away goals.

Now a vastly weakened Barcelona squad look for a measure of revenge against the Italians. One such member of this weakened squad is Malcom though, a young Brazilian who looked on the edge of a move to Roma, only for Barcelona to hijack the deal at the very last minute. He made his debut from the bench against Tottenham at the weekend, and he will be hoping to start here.

Malcom wasn’t the only Brazilian debutant either. In the absence of Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Ivan Rakitic, Ousmane Dembele, and Gerard Pique there were a number of youngsters given the chance to impress. New boy Arthur was one of them, and he netted a sensational goal to put the Catalan side 2-0 up against Spurs. Unfortunately for them they ended up crumbling in the second half, although after the game ended 2-2 they did win on penalties.

Roma can’t claim any such victory though. The Serie A side also faced Spurs in their first International Champions Cup game, but despite a 3rd minute Patrick Schick goal they ended up getting thrashed 4-1 by Tottenham. This was a massive surprise given how weakened Spurs are at the moment, and it’s likely that Eusebio Di Francesco could opt to make wholesale changes against Barcelona.

They actually have a very strong squad compared to the rest of the ICC teams as well, boasting most of their first team players. Edin Dzeko could come in up front, with new signing Javier Pastore also in the squad along with Ante Coric, despite his lengthy efforts at the World Cup. Daniele De Rossi, Kevin Strootman, Aleksandar Kolarov, and Kostas Manolas are also in the squad.

However, most of these were in the squad when Roma were demolished at the hands of Lucas Moura and Fernando Llorente last week, and they’re facing a Barcelona side who were on the cusp of beating that very same Spurs side. We think the Spaniards are hugely undervalued here, so backing a Barcelona Draw No Bet looks a great choice along with a 2-1 correct score predictions.