A few eyebrows were raised when Claudio Ranieri was dragged out of retirement to take charge of Roma for a third time.
The 73-year-old was lured off the sofa by the thought of restoring calm to the Giallorossi, who started the season with Daniele De Rossi in charge before he was removed for Ivan Juric, who lasted just 53 days at the helm.
Ranieri did not inspire an immediate transformation but Roma appear to have found their stride in recent weeks. They are unbeaten in Serie A since December 15 and have won six of their last nine games to climb to ninth in the table.
Their European hopes hinge on tonight’s Europa League playoff second leg against Porto in the Italian capital.
🏆 Another European night to experience together
🏟🚩 LET’S TURN THE STADIUM YELLOW AND RED! 🟨🟥#ASRoma #UEL #RomaPorto pic.twitter.com/YCy18v9SaM
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) February 19, 2025
A Francisco Moura equaliser denied Roma in Porto last week, the game finishing 1-1, but we’re confident Ranieri’s men will get the job done tonight.
This is not a vintage Porto side and they sit third in the Primeira Liga, behind Benfica and leaders Sporting CP.
They have won just one of their last six in the league, a 1-0 success at Farense at the weekend, courtesy of another Moura goal.
Double up on Gala
We fancy Roma in a double that also includes Galatasaray.
The Turkish giants were hammered 4-1 by AZ Alkmaar in the first leg last week, meaning Gala have to produce something special on home turf.
It will be a hostile atmosphere and few clubs are harder to stop when they get on a roll. Add in the fact star striker Victor Osimhen is back from suspension and we are plumping for a home win.
Whether it will be enough for Gala to get through is another matter.
Using bet365’s bet builder tool, we are going for (all prices correct at 1130 on February 20):
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