Athletic Bilbao vs Roma

Estadio San Mames forms the backdrop for the second leg of a fiercely contested Europa League last-16 tie between Athletic Bilbao and Roma.

Sunday’s 1-1 draw against fellow La Liga rivals Mallorca stretched Athletic Bilbao’s underwhelming form to three consecutive winless games in all competitions (D1, L2), derailing their hopes of beating Roma for the first time in their third Europa League encounter this term (D1, L1). A 2-1 defeat in the first leg put Ernesto Valverde’s side on the back foot. However, San Mames is the perfect venue to help Los Leones pull off a turnaround, considering they won all four home matches in the league phase – three of which via multiple-goal margins! Further confidence stems from Bilbao’s dominant home record against Italian opposition, as they’ve racked up eight wins from ten previous H2Hs in the Basque country (D1, L1).

In the meantime, Roma will be out to become the only team after Torino to beat Bilbao in Spain after a 1-0 Serie A win against Empoli extended their winning streak to six games in all competitions. Moreover, Claudio Ranieri’s men head into proceedings amid an eight-game unbeaten run (W7, D1), suggesting they could make it five consecutive Europa League games undefeated after a first-leg triumph (W3, D1). However, Roma’s well-documented travel sickness could throw a spanner in the works as they’ve failed to win across their last ten European road trips (D6, L4)! Additionally, they’ve avoided defeat in just four of their 12 away UEFA games against Spanish sides (W2, D2, L8).