Roma v Man United predictions: Ruthless Red Devils to finish the job in style

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for the Europa League semi-final second leg between Roma and Manchester United on Thursday.

Where to watch

BT Sport 3, 8pm Thursday

Best bet

Man Utd
2pts 10-11 Betfair, Betfred, Hills

Team news

Roma
Gianluca Mancini returns from suspension but Pau Lopez (shoulder), Jordan Veretout and Leonardo Spinazzola (both muscle strains) have joined Nicolo Zaniolo (knee) and Ricardo Calafiori on the sidelines. Federico Fazio and Juan Jesus are not included in the squad.

Manchester United
Phil Jones and Anthony Martial (both knee) remain unavailable.

Match preview

Roma are hoping for something special next season after appointing Jose Mourinho as their next manager, but they’re unlikely to pull off a miracle turnaround at the Stadio Olimpico.

Manchester United produced a scintillating second-half performance to sweep aside Roma 6-2 at Old Trafford last Thursday and they should cruise through to the Europa League final with a victory at the Stadio Olimpico.

Anyone thinking there is still some life left in the tie can get odds of 66-1 about the Italian side performing one of the greatest fightbacks in the competition's 50-year history.

The tournament has been renamed twice over the last half-century but there has been only one instance of a 6-2 first-leg deficit being overturned and it came in the second round of the 1984-85 Uefa Cup when Alan Mullery's QPR suffered a 4-0 second-leg defeat away to Yugoslav opponents Partizan Belgrade.

Roma's cause had looked a lot more hopeful when they reached half-time at the Theatre of Dreams with a 2-1 lead, although the seeds for a potential collapse had perhaps been sown by first-half injuries to Jordan Veretout, Pau Lopez and Leonardo Spinazzola which had further weakened an already depleted squad.

United tore into their threadbare opponents after the break and scored five unanswered goals, including a double from centre-forward Edinson Cavani, who seems to grow in stature every time he dons the club's colours.

Roma looked shell-shocked by the final whistle and their miserable week was capped off on Sunday with a 2-0 loss away to mid-table Sampdoria.

A once-promising Serie A campaign has tailed off with the Wolves taking just five points from their last eight games, and the club are already looking ahead by confirming the appointment of Jose Mourinho on a three-year-deal which begins at the start of next season.

Outgoing manager Paulo Fonseca will do his best to give United something to think about and his tactics could be heavily geared towards servicing veteran striker Edin Dzeko, who was on target last Thursday - scoring his sixth goal in five visits to Old Trafford.

However, by pushing forward in an attempt to find a way back into the tie, Roma are more likely to leave gaps at the back and United possess the necessary pace and precision to punish them on the counter-attack.

United have looked more suited to playing on the road and are targeting a fourth successive success on their Europa League travels following victories at Sociedad (4-0), Milan (1-0) and Granada (2-0).

They will be aiming to break the home team's spirit as soon as possible and should finish the job with the minimum of fuss.

Key stat

Manchester United have won five of their last six games by at least two goals.

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