Juventus or Sevilla are waiting in the final. Leverkusen are looking ahead to their first European Cup final since 2002. Meanwhile, AS Roma are the reigning Europa Conference League champions. A 1-0 home lead in the first leg was a huge advantage, enough for Mourinho and the Roma players to be confident in their trip to Germany.
Leverkusen have lost only 1 of their last 11 away matches in all competitions. Unfortunately, that defeat was a 0-1 defeat to Roma in Olimpico last week, causing their chances of reaching the final to decline.
Leverkusen also have a poor record against Serie A sides in European competition. They have lost all 7 of their most recent matches against the Italian representatives. That poor form is too big a barrier because they need to beat Roma at Bay Arena to hope to reach the final.
In the past 10 years, only 3 teams have advanced after losing in the Europa League semi-finals, history is not in favor of the white team. However, the victories over Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig at home will be a great source of encouragement. Leverkusen also beat Atletico Madrid in the Champions League at home.
Leverkusen will be led in this clash by Xabi Alonso - a former student of Jose Mourinho. The Spaniard's honeymoon week has ended as Leverkusen have not won any of their last 4 matches. Before that, Alonso had a 14-match unbeaten streak with Leverkusen, including 10 wins. The current 7th place in the Bundesliga does not guarantee a ticket to the Europa League next season, so Leverkusen must win the Europa League to once again participate in the Champions League.
Edoardo Bove - who scored in the first leg - was considered a breath of fresh air for AS Roma, along with veterans brought back by Mourinho to revive their form such as Nemanja Matic, Paulo Dybala and Georginio Wijnaldum. Mourinho is also changing as he gradually removes his old image with the veterans to put his faith in the younger players.
At the end of this season, the "Special One" will no longer work at Olimpico. He became a legend after helping the city's team forever win the first European title in history last year. If he wins the Europa League this season, it will be the perfect farewell gift from the Portuguese strategist to the place where he has received a lot of respect.
Roma's form is not a goal, they have won 15/17 of their most recent direct away matches at Olimpico. This time traveling to Bay Arena will be a very different story, but Roma owns Mourinho, who is always considered theangang of the continental Cup. Roma just need to be more cautious about what they have failed to do at Razgrad, Rotterdam and Salzburg, the final tickets will be handed over.
Bayer Leverkusen's expected lineup:
Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Demirbay, Palacios, Bakker; Diaby, Wirtz, Adli
AS Roma's expected lineup:
patricio; Mancini, Cristante, Ibanez; Celik, Matic, Bove, Spinazzola; Pellegrini, Wijnaldum; Abraham
The match between Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma will take place at 2:00 a.m. on May 19 (Vietnam time), live on FPT Television.
