For our Roma vs. Real Sociedad prediction, we're going for a 1-0 win for the home side.
One of the ties of the round in the Europa League takes place in Rome this week as AS Roma welcome La Liga side Real Sociedad to the Italian capital on Thursday.
AS Roma reached the Europa League last 16 by finishing 2nd in Group C, a group containing Real Betis, Ludogorets and HJK before beating RB Salzburg 2-1 on aggregate in the play-off round.
They enter this game in decent shape amidst a solid run of form having won three and lost two of their last five matches in all competitions, the most recent of which wa sa huge 1-0 win over an in form Juventus side.
The win over Juventus was a classic Jose Mourinho performance from Roma with three points secured in an efficient and professional manner against a side that were bang in form and favoured for this match.
Their home form has been excellent of late, too, having won each of their last three consecutive matches on home soil.
While they haven't been terrible in this department, Roma could do with improving in front of goal having scored just five goals in their last five matches in all competitions. With the wealth of options they have up top, with the likes of Paulo Dybala and Tammy Abraham, it feels like they should be more threatening going forward.
Roma have been given one of the toughest matchups in the tournament here against a very well put together side, and seeing how they struggled to cope with Real Betis in the group stage this could be a difficult one for Mourinho's men. Their opponents, however, are not at their best right now so Roma should fancy themselves to win this game at least.
Real Sociedad reached the last 16 of the Europa League by finishing top of Group E, a group containing Manchester United, Sheriff Tiraspol and Omonoia Nicosia.
Sociedad are having a fine season both in Europe and domestically, where they currently sit 4th in the La Liga table and are well on course to finish in the Champions League places.
They do, though, enter this game quite out of form having won just one of their last five matches in all competitions, the most recent of which was an underwhelming 0-0 draw at home to Cadiz.
Their away form is slightly more encouraging having won two, drawn one and lost two of their last five matches on the road in all competitions.
Like their opponents, they've been struggling in front of goal having scored just four times in their last five matches. We could, then, see a low scoring affair and unfortunately for the away side it feels like this game may have come at the wrong time as their early season form has somewhat dissipated. It's hard to see La Real taking a first leg lead back to Spain but a draw would be huge for them here.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of our previews, tips and offers for this weekend’s action.
