Ajax to pay the penalty for costly first leg miss
Roma and Ajax meet in the second leg of the 2020/2021 UEFA Europa League quarter finals, with the tie still within reach for both sides. In the opening leg in Amsterdam, the hosts had a one goal lead when forward Dušan Tadić failed to double their advantage from the penalty spot. Paulo Fonseca's men rallied and staged a comeback, taking back to Italy a 2-1 victory. The visitors will be without key players in goal, defence, and up front. Whilst it's not beyond them to turn things around, this might be a bridge too far on this occasion. Read our preview here:
Edin through
The first leg revival was built on the back of sterling performances in midfield, and none moreso than Lorenzo Pellegrini, who grabbed the crucial equaliser before the hour mark. The 24 year old playmaker should have more time on the ball in the Stadio Olimpico to work his magic, either by looking for the runs in behind the backline by Pedro or by hitting an accurate longer pass from a deeper position in search of target man Edin Džeko peeling off his marker to finish coolly. The Bosnian striker, now 35, has had a stop-start campaign punctuated by injuries and a managerial falling out, but retains the quality to be a difference maker. He will have a distinct height and aerial advantage over both Ajax centre backs, and the overall strategy employed will seek to make the most of that, especially by involving the wing-backs in the final third as often as possible. Even grabbing a single goal will make their adversaries' work that much harder.
To Kjell and back
The perennial Eredivisie champions remain in the unusual position of having custodians Maarten Stekelenburg and André Onana out of contention. The prevailing narrative surrounding stand-in goalkeepers is a strange one, as though they are by default incompetent. However, Kjell Scherpen's fumble from Pellegrini's free-kick brought all those stereotypes back, even if he was solid for the rest of the clash in a game replete with defensive errors and indecision from both sides. The strength of the likely XI will certainly reside in the midfield, and they collectively need to keep pressuring the hosts into more individual mistakes. Brian Brobbey, another successful graduate of the youth system, might have to make do with a place on the bench at the outset, but could be introduced late on to use his pace and poise against a tiring backline. The 19 year old is joining RB Leipzig in the summer, and will be desperate to further underline his credentials to his future employers on Thursday evening.
Happy days for the Fons
The absentees in the colours of Ajax should give Roma the distinct advantage on paper, but more often than not, they are the architects of their own downfall through needless moments of hesitancy. From kick-off, the plan should be to remain stoic in the face of waves of attacks, and then look to make the most of the dead ball experts in the side to press home their superiority. bet365 have odds of 2.70 for them to win the second leg and book passage into the semis.
