The UEFA Europa League knockout phase gets underway this week, with De Kuip staging the first leg of one of the standout clashes in the play-off round.
On Thursday, Feyenoord – who finished third in their Champions League group – host a Roma outfit that finished second in their Europa League group.
Een 4️⃣luik:#feyspa pic.twitter.com/Le6nSOlouO— Feyenoord Rotterdam (@Feyenoord) February 11, 2024
Een 4️⃣luik:#feyspa pic.twitter.com/Le6nSOlouO
Can the Dutch side gain a first-leg advantage on home soil? Or will the Italians get a result in the Netherlands? Keep reading to discover what Forebet’s AI algorithm predicts.
Feyenoord claimed a comfortable 2-0 victory over Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie on Sunday, racking up 69% possession and 23 shots to cement second place in the table.
Arne Slot’s side have now avoided defeat in each of their last nine matches across all competitions, registering seven wins, two draws and five consecutive clean sheets.
Feyenoord made a strong start to their Champions League campaign, winning two of their opening three games, but a run of three straight defeats saw them finish third in their group.
Still, trends show that Slot’s men have won each of their previous three home matches in the Europa League, so they will be confident of picking up a positive result on Thursday.
As for Roma, they suffered a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Serie A leaders Inter Milan on Saturday, despite leading the contest 2-1 at half time.
That loss ended a three-game winning streak for Daniele De Rossi’s men, who defeated Hellas Verona, Salernitana and Cagliari in the new manager’s opening matches.
Under former boss Jose Mourinho, Roma lost just one of their six Europa League group games, picking up four wins, one draw and three clean sheets along the way.
However, stats show that Roma have managed to win only one of their last eight away outings in the Europa League, highlighting their struggles on the road.
Head-to-head: Funnily enough, Feyenoord and Roma met in the quarter-finals of last season’s Europa League, with the Italians winning 4-2 on aggregate.
When you look at the H2H statistics since 2015, the Dutch outfit have managed to win just one of their five meetings with Roma, suffering three defeats in that time.
Team news: Feyenoord’s lengthy injury list contains Justin Bijlow, Quinten Timber, Gernot Trauner, Gjivai Zechiel and Thomas van den Belt.
On the flip side, Roma’s sole injury absentee is English striker Tammy Abraham, who has not featured since June due to a serious knee problem.
Although Roma have struggled on their travels in the Europa League in recent years, they appear to have found a new lease of life under De Rossi.
Accordingly, Forebet’s predictive analytics model expects Roma to secure a low-scoring, clean-sheet victory over Feyenoord at De Kuip.