Thursday sees us take in some Europa League action as Roma take on Brighton at the Stadio Olimpico.
Gladiators Versus Seagulls
There is no doubt that Brighton fans have been to some swanky locations this season, they can soon add Rome to that list.
A European Tour
Are Brighton having a bad season? A question that has certainly generated plenty of debate and the answer depends on how your viewpoint is. If you use last season as the benchmark, then the answer is yes, if you treat this campaign as standalone then the answer is closer to no.
Ultimately, the definitive answer will not be found until the end of the 2023/24 season and right now it could go one of two ways. The Seagulls could still qualify for Europe via the Premier League route once again, they could even win this current edition of the Europa League.
Should Roberto De Zerbi’s men manage to win UEFA’s secondary competition, they will also be given a ticket to the Champions League and if that proves to be the case, their domestic placing becomes largely irrelevant.
That of course is the dream scenario but there is still a relative nightmare lurking in the shadow. One that sees the Seagulls swoop down the Premier League table and out of the European paying positions and one that also sees them fail to succeed on the continent.
In fairness, it is not a do or die scenario for manager De Zerbi, especially as his own personal stock is so high and even more so, when you consider that he has been linked with both the Barcelona and Liverpool jobs.
Now though, the Italian has to in the short term at least mastermind the Italian job and it is one that sees his players go up against Roma on Thursday. They say when in Rome, do as the Romans do and in footballing terms, it can only mean victory.
Something that Roma failed to do in the playoff round of this competition and with them being paired with Feyenoord for the third successive season in European competition, it would eventually take penalties after 210 minutes to see Daniele De Rossi’s men into the Round of 16.
Men that were previously Jose Mourinho’s and with the Portuguese managerial icon being sacked back in in mid-January, De Rossi has taken the Stadio Olimpico reins to rather good effect. An effect that puts the club in the mix for a top four Serie A finish.
Six wins from seven since Mourinho’s departure and the only blot on the copybook being the 4-2 defeat to runaway leaders Inter. At the weekend, they won 4-1 at Monza whereas Brighton lost 3-0 at Fulham, if ever there was a display of contrasting results, that surely has to be it.
But now it is time for the first of my two tips and with Roma being in such good form, I think this one ends in a home win but at the cost of conceding. Brighton will look to at least stay in the tie and a narrow defeat would allow that. This first pick is currently priced at 3/1.
In addition to this, that narrow home win with both teams on the scoresheet, only really points to one logical final score. The Gladiators downing the Seagulls by two goals to one and this is priced at odds of 8/1.
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