Europa League and Europa Conference League predictions and free football tips

Where to watch

Roma vs Bayer Leverkusen
TNT Sports 2, 8pm

Marseille vs Atalanta
TNT Sports 3, 8pm

Fiorentina vs Club Brugge
TNT Sports 5, 8pm

Best bets

Second half to be higher-scoring in Roma vs Bayer Leverkusen
3pts 11-10 Betfair, Paddy Power

Atalanta draw no bet vs Marseille
1pt Evs general

Thursday Europa League & Europa Conference League predictions

Still on course for a shock treble, Bayer Leverkusen are yet to lose a game in any competition this season and aim to continue that run in their Europa League semi-final with Roma.

The first leg takes place at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday and the importance of establishing an early lead in the tie will not be lost on Roma.

But that will be easier said than done given Bayer Leverkusen have been untouchable this season, having already wrapped up their first Bundesliga title with 25 wins from 31 matches.

That said, Xabi Alonso's men have been held to draws in their last three games and a win for Die Werkself is not a foregone conclusion.

Instead, goals could be the way to go and a bet on the second half to feature more goals than the first is appealing.

Ten of Leverkusen's last 11 goals have come in the second half and they have scored 17 times after the 88th minute this season, including a 96th-minute equaliser against Stuttgart and a 97th-minute equaliser against Borussia Dortmund in April.

Roma have also been known to leave it late, having bagged an 88th-minute equaliser against Napoli on Sunday after striking a 95th-minute winner against Udinese in their previous game.

Neither side will want to give much away in this first leg and the first half especially could be cagey but as the game goes on, we can expect more goalscoring opportunities.

Atalanta are the other Serie A outfit bidding to make it to the final of the Europa League and Marseille stand in front of them.

This is only the second time that Atalanta have reached a European semi-final and Gian Piero Gasperini has already labelled the Europa League as their priority in the remaining weeks of the season.

Their route to the last four featured a sensational 3-0 drubbing of Liverpool at Anfield, which followed a two-legged success over Sporting Lisbon, and they can cause a stir in the south of France.

Marseille are simply too inconsistent to warrant backing in a game of this magnitude.

They came close to blowing a 4-0 first-leg lead over Villarreal in the Europa League last 16 and scraped past Benfica on penalties in the quarter-finals.

They are on their third permanent manager of the season in Jean-Louis Gasset and have won just two of their last nine matches, so Atalanta look a decent draw-no-bet pick.

In the Europa Conference League, meanwhile, last year's beaten finalists Fiorentina lock horns with Club Brugge.

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