Roma Serie A Odds & Europa League Bets After Mourinho Exit

Two and a half years after taking charge of Roma, Jose Mourinho has departed the Italian capital with the Giallorossi currently 9th in the table, five points away from the Champions League positions. That complicates plays when it comes to soccer bet predictions.

The Portuguese guided Roma to the inaugural Europa Conference League trophy in his first season. Apart from their heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat, Roma have not come close to sealing a return to the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2018/19, the mission that Mourinho was tasked with when he took charge in the summer of 2021.

After finishing sixth in his first two seasons, Mourinho leaves Roma mired in midtable mediocrity, and the odds against them as they look to qualify for Europe’s premier competition.

Moreover, the foul-mouthed antics towards referees have continued, with the 60-year-old manager earning five dismissals this season in comparison to three last season.

He was given his marching orders for a second straight match in a 1-0 defeat to crosstown rivals Lazio in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals last week, and he was in the stands as Roma fell to a 3-1 humiliation at the hands of Milan.

Serie A betting fans have lost faith in a Roma side that has drawn five and lost seven of their opening 20 matches and that continues to disappoint against Italy’s top sides.

This month, it’s been more of the same, and it has resulted in Mourinho receiving the ax.

With a conservative setup predicated on defensive tactics and individual brilliance from the likes of Paulo Dybala and Romelu Lukaku, it seems that Roma players aren’t quite on the same page, with the team developing a worrisome dependence on Dybala – a playmaker who is equally magical and innovative as he is injury-prone.

With just one match in their last six league matches, it’s not hard to see why Italian soccer bettors have chosen to place their trust in more reliable teams like Inter, Juventus and Milan.

Club legend Daniele De Rossi will be taking charge until the end of the season, having scored 63 goals in 616 appearances between 2001 and 2019.

His first coaching foray lasted four months, leaving SPAL 18th in the Serie B table. Now, he’ll be tasked with turning around a Roma side that is sinking in the Las Vegas sportsbooks’ estimations and that has kept just one clean sheet in Serie A since the November international break.

You’d have to go back four games to December 23 for the last time that Roma scored a non-penalty goal in Serie A, and it should come as no surprise to soccer betting connoisseurs that the betting lines have Roma (+1600) behind West Ham (+1200), Brighton (+1200), Milan (+1000), Bayer Leverkusen (+550) and Liverpool (+225) amongst the favorites to come away with the Europa League title in Dublin.

The onus is on De Rossi as he looks to turn around Roma’s sinking ship and find some stability at the Stadio Olimpico. The Giallorossi will play host to 18th-placed Hellas Verona on Saturday before traveling to 20th-placed Salernitana and welcoming 17th-placed Cagliari, followed by a visit from league leaders Inter and a trip to Feyenoord in the UEFA Europa League.

Question Of The Day

Which Serie A soccer matches are the most anticipated this week?