Football Bet of the Day: Roman revolution to continue | OneFootball

Bet of the Day

Claudio Ranieri has rescued Roma's season

We're heading to Italy for our Saturday night entertainment, and Kevin Hatchard has a Serie A bet for us.

Lecce v RomaSaturday 29 March, 19:45

Potent Pat played more like Postman Pat last night, as Bayer Leverkusen's Patrik Schick drew a rare blank in a 3-1 win over Bochum. Moving swiftly on, we'll head to Italy, because in-form Roma are justifiable odds-on favourites against Lecce in Serie A.

Roma have had a chaotic season. The Friedkins' decision to sack club legend Daniele de Rossi just a few games into the campaign was staggeringly bizarre, and he was then replaced as coach by Ivan Juric, who lasted just a handful of matches before he was forced out. The owners were scrambling by this stage, and turned to a popular son of Rome in Claudio Ranieri.

The veteran has done a wonderful job, and a run of 11 Serie A wins in 15 have taken the Giallorossi back into contention for a Champions League place. Star summer signing Artem Dovbyk has been revitalised, wing-backs Alexis Saelemaekers and Angelino have sparkled, and captain Lorenzo Pellegrini has had his confidence and status with the fans rebuilt.

While Roma are building up a serious head of steam, Lecce are tumbling towards the relegation mire. They have lost four in a row in Serie A, and at home they have had a recent run of four defeats and two draws. Selling the excellent Patrick Dorgu to Manchester United mid-season did them no favours, and they have failed to score in five of their last eight matches.

Lecce also struggle badly against teams with technical quality. At the Giardiniero they lost 4-0 to Inter, 3-2 to Milan, 2-1 to Lazio, 6-0 to Fiorentina and 4-0 to Atalanta.

Roma have seen their price drop over the course of the week, but I'm still happy to back them to win at 1.82 on the Exchange. Momentum is key at this stage of the season, and while Roma have it in abundance, Lecce have lost their entirely.

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