Europa League finalists Roma feature on our Football Bet of the Day for Monday, but don’t expect them to be involved in a classic when Salernitana visit the Stadio Olimpico.
Jose Mourinho’s side booked their place in a second European final in as many seasons with a narrow 1-0 aggregate success over Bayer Leverkusen, following up a 1-0 home win with a goalless draw at the BayArena on Thursday evening.
Winning the Europa League represents Roma’s best chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League, as their European exploits have seemingly had a detrimental effect on their domestic form.
Opponents Salernitana head into the match in good spirits after their Serie A status was confirmed for another season following Verona’s defeat at Atalanta on Saturday, while they have proven to be a tough nut to crack on the road over recent weeks.
Football Bet of the Day – Monday 22nd May, 2023
- Roma vs Salernitana – Under 1.5 goals in the match @ 5/2
Date: Monday 22nd May
Time: 17:30
Location: Stadio Olimpico
Roma’s aggregate success over Leverkusen in the semi-finals of the Europa League was vintage Mounrinho, with his side grabbing a lead during the first leg and then grinding out the victory during the return fixture against an opponent who had scored plenty of goals this season.
That pragmatic approach has been a theme for Roma throughout the knockout stages of their European campaign, as seven of their eight continental matches since the turn of the year have yielded two goals or fewer, while five have seen no more than one goal scored.
Goals have also been in short supply for the Giallorossi domestically, as they are the lowest scorers of any of the sides currently in the top half of the Serie A standings, netting just 45 goals to date.
Across the five matches they have played in May, Roma have scored just two goals and conceded three, with their last two fixtures, against Leverkusen in the Europa League and Bologna in Serie A, ending 0-0.
Salernitana looked to be fighting a losing battle in the race for Serie A survival before Paulo Sousa’s arrival as manager in February, but since the Portuguese’s appointment the Granata have lost just two of 13 games.
Sousa has certainly made his side more resilient, as they have conceded just 14 goals from those 13 matches, which has gone a long way to ensuring they will be spending a third-successive season in the Italian top-flight.
Away from home, Salernitana have only conceded more than once in one of their last seven matches, a sequence that includes trips to champions Napoli and AC Milan.
In the reverse fixture earlier in the season, Roma claimed a narrow 1-0 victory at the Stadio Arechi and a similar result could be on the cards on Monday.
One thing that does seem likely is a lack of goals, with under 1.5 in the match available to back at 5/2.
This may not turn out to be a classic, but it could make for an intriguing tactical battle between two defensively sound sides.
Welcome Offer – Bet £10 Get £30 in FREE Bets
New 18+ UK customers.
1st bet on sports of £10+ in one transaction at evens (2.0)+ settled within 7 days of registering.
£30 paid in free bets within 10 hours of bet settlement, 7-day expiry. Payment restrictions apply.
Full Terms & Conditions apply.
