Europa League Quarterfinal Preview: Ajax Vs. Roma
Published April 8, 2021 by Sol FH
This will be the third meeting between Ajax and Roma in the European competition and should be an excellent match; this evening at 20:00 GMT.
Ajax and Roma have met on two previous occasions in European competitions, albeit none of the team members who played in those meetings are still with either squad, currently. It was back in the second round of the Champions League group stage in 2002/03, wherein Ajax won the first match 2-1 at home, followed by a 1-1 draw in the second leg.
Since Ajax's win back in 2002, they have not been able to beat a single Italian team at home. Over their last ten matches against Italian teams, Ajax has drawn six times and lost four. Ajax is looking for its third semi-final berth in its last 5 campaigns. They are doing very well in league play with firm control over the Eredivisie and have won its last 4 of 5 games with 4 wins and 1 draw.
Roma, on the other hand, is struggling this season. They picked up yet another loss in league play over the weekend and coming into Amsterdam to take an away win this evening will be no easy task. To make matters worse, Roma must deal with the absence of three starters. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Chris Smalling will again miss the action, while Max Kumbulla and Stephan El Shaarawy have now also been sidelined. Rick Karsdorp has been suspended due to a yellow card leaving the team without two key rotation pieces.
Europa League Odds
At bet365 Sports, the odds in this first leg are very close, which means it should be an outstanding match. Ajax is at home and is in the driver's seat at 1.95, whereas, Roma is not far behind at 3.60. There are dozens of pre-game odds that punters can get in on, moreover, live in-play odds that will be offered throughout today's action.
The odds in this article at the bookmaker mentioned above were accurate at the time of writing, on April 8 at 7:40 GMT.
