Roma vs Eintracht Frankfurt Prediction: Draw could be enough for I Giallorossi

The race for a Uefa Europa League knockout phase play-off place runs into the final week for AS Roma (21st), who must beat second-place Eintracht Frankfurt at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday (20:00, TNT Sports 5) to guarantee a top-24 finish. Their visitors, meanwhile, have already booked their ticket to the last 16 as they cannot finish lower than eighth, but a handsome win in the Italian capital, coupled with a Braga victory over league-phase leaders Lazio, could see the German side finish top of the pile.

Below is my Roma vs Eintracht Frankfurt prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Claudio Ranier has made two additions to his Roma squad so far this month, bringing in Italian goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini and Dutch defender Devyne Rensch, but neither player is eligible to feature on Thursday.

Mario Hermoso, meanwhile, appears to be on his way out of the club, with Bayer Leverkusen reportedly on the verge of securing his signature. The Spaniard was absent from Sunday's squad as I Giallorossi beat Udinese 2-1 in Serie A and it seems unlikely that he will be in Ranieri's thinking for the visit of Eintracht Frankfurt.

Roma appear to have a fully-fit squad and that will allow 'Tinkerman' to make some changes from the weekend, with Paulo Dybala, Mats Hummels and Leandro Paredes among those set to return to the starting XI after being named as substitutes in Udine.

Football Odds

Eintracht Frankfurt aren't quite as fortunate in the injury department as Roma with Junior Dina Ebimbe, who has been out of action since mid-November, yet to fully recover from a calf complaint.

Neither Nathaniel Brown nor January arrival Elye Wahi, signed as a replacement for Manchester City's Omar Marmoush, are registered in Eintracht's Europa League squad for the league phase, while there are doubts over the availability of Mahmoud Dahoud, who has been suffering with illness.

Roma vs Eintracht Frankfurt Odds

Eintracht have won four and drawn one of their first five games this calendar year and have picked up 16 points from 21 on offer in Europe, yet Dino Toppmoller's side are 4/1 to claim victory on Thursday, implying a win probability of 20%. Roma, meanwhile, are 7/10, or a 58.8% chance, to secure the three points they require to guarantee a top-24 finish, while the draw is priced at 11/4.

Roma duo Artem Dovbyk (5/4) and Dybala (7/4) head the anytime goalscorer market with 16-goal Eintracht attacker Hugo Ekitike (11/5), who has struck twice in the league phase, first up for the visitors.

Double Chance & Both Teams to Score - Roma or Draw & Yes @ 21/20

Ranieri lost the first home game of his third spell in charge against Atalanta (0-2) on December 2 but has since overseen six straight victories at the Stadio Olimpico by an aggregate of 21-3.

Eintracht, though, could pose I Giallorossi's toughest test in Rome since La Dea downed them there last month, with the German side winning five of their first seven league-phase games.

Crucially, though, six of those were achieved with Marmoush in their ranks, and in their first away game without the Egyptian on Sunday, Eintracht were held to a 2-2 draw by Hoffenheim.

The hope will be that Wahi can come in and contribute in the same way that Marmoush was, but the Frenchman isn't eligible for Thursday's game and so Ekitike will shoulder much of the attacking responsibility in Rome.

He will certainly back himself to trouble Roma's backline and I would be surprised if the visitors didn't get on the scoresheet having only blanked twice this season and just once since August; however, I'm backing the hosts to avoid defeat as they have been so strong at home under Ranieri, and a loss could be terminal to their chances of clinching a play-off spot.

Eintracht will want to finish as high as possible but their motivation to win is not as high as Roma's and they were beaten by Lyon (3-2) on their last trip outside Germany.

Bet Builder - Paulo Dybala (ROM) 1+ Shots on Target, Hugo Ekitike (FRA) 1+ Shots on Target, Mats Hummels (ROM) 1+ Shots @ 9/4

Talismanic Roma forward Dybala should be well rested ahead of Thursday after only playing the final 10 minutes or so of Sunday's win against Udinese, so he's expected to start and play the majority, if not the duration, of this contest.

The Argentina international didn't get off to the best of starts in this season's Europa League, starting just one of Roma's first three league-phase games and recording just a single shot against Athletic Club, which missed the target.

However, under Ranieri, Dybala has started three times in Europe, racking up four shots (two on target) v Tottenham Hotspur, three shots (two on target) v Sporting Braga, and five shots (one on target) v AZ Alkmaar.

Eintracht have conceded five times on their travels in Europe this season, failing to keep a clean sheet in contests with Besiktas (1-3), Midtjylland (1-2) and Lyon (3-2), and they gave up 11, four and six shots on target respectively in those games.

Roma will be looking to win on Thursday and that means Dybala should be firing off shots from all angles, and I would expect at least one to fly into the net or test the goalkeeper.

I'm also backing Eintracht's main man - following the departure of Marmoush - Ekitike to register a shot on target in Rome. The 22-year-old is averaging 1.9 shots per game and one shot on target per game in the league phase, while four of his five efforts against Ferencvaros last week were within the frame of the goal - the first three forcing saves and the fourth going into the net.

Veteran Roma defender Hummels rounds off this Bet Builder with a single shot the only thing we require from the German.

Hummels was seemingly kept in reserve for this game on the weekend, remaining rooted to the bench in Udine, and he should come into Thursday's starting XI and cause problems for Eintracht at attacking set-pieces.

The 36-year-old is averaging 1.7 shots per game in the league phase, trying his luck four times against Tottenham Hotspur on November 28 before following up with one effort against Braga two weeks later.

Hummels is averaging just under a shot per game (0.8) in Serie A and has taken at least one in five of his last six appearances in the competition. He's a big danger to the opposition from set-pieces and I expect Roma to aim for him when presented with an opportunity.

Offers

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