Football Bet of the Day: Unbeaten Leverkusen to march to Dublin

We’ve got some cracking football action coming our way on Thursday night as the Europa League and Europa Conference League semi-finals will be decided, one way or another. Our Football Bet of the Day for Thursday, May 9, comes from Germany, as Bayer Leverkusen host Roma (20:00, TNT Sports) in the second leg of their semi-final. 

We’ve got to focus on Bayer Leverkusen. They are now potentially just five games away from completing the greatest single club season we have ever seen. Winning every competition you are in is one thing, but doing so undefeated is almost unimaginable. 

Xabi Alonso’s men have already dethroned Bayern Munich domestically, which was quite the feat given they had won the last ten Bundesliga titles on the bounce, but now they have amazingly carried their form into the Europa League and the DFB-Pokal. They are in the final of the German Cup, and now just one game away from making the final of the Europa League. 

And they’ve not lost a single match along the way. Their unbeaten run has now stretched to 49 matches in all competitions, and they are in a wonderful position to progress to the Europa League final in Dublin. They beat Roma 2-0 away from home in the first leg, and know that the Italians will have to do something spectacular to overturn that deficit. 

Leverkusen could afford to lose this game by one goal and still progress, but that simply isn’t in their nature, which is where our Football Bet of the Day comes in. Alonso is likely to play exactly the same way that he has all season - to win. The home side are one of the best attacking teams anywhere in Europe right now and I genuinely believe they would have reached the latter stages of the Champions League had they qualified last term. 

There’s just no stopping them at this moment in time and with Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Granit Xhaka all firing, they should be able to book their place in the final in style. I’m backing them to win this game, but I’m also going to pick both teams to find the net here. Roma have to come out and score twice, so there is no point in them sitting back. 

Both teams have scored in five of Roma’s last six outings, with the only exception being that 2-0 defeat to Leverkusen at the Stadio Olimpico. With the likes of Romelu Lukaku in their team they have all the ability in the world to score goals, and they have to land a blow on the German side - otherwise they will go out with a whimper. Meanwhile, this record-breaking Leverkusen outfit haven’t failed to score in any game since January, and it’s difficult to see them breaking that streak here. 

They are simply too good. And that’s why I believe their winning run will continue as they target an unprecedented unbeaten treble. Home win, with plenty of goals expected on Thursday night - as Alonso’s men go marching on. 

Check out our other Football Bet of the Day Tips here.