Roma look for unlikely turnaround

Roma will look for an unlikely turnaround in their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal against Barcelona, with the teams set for the return match the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Tuesday, 10 April 2018, kick-off at 20h45 CAT.

The first leg at the Camp Nou last week saw Roma score three times – unfortunately two of those goals were into their own net, as both Daniele De Rossi and Kostas Manolas were guilty of ‘OGs’, while Gerard Pique and Luis Suarez completed a 4-1 triumph for Barca.

Yet an away goal from Edin Dzeko – and the fact that the scoreline wasn’t a true reflection of how well the Italian side played – will give hope to Roma that they can turn the tie in their favour.

They’ll need to win 3-0 for Dzeko’s away goal to be decisive and that’s a tall order, but Eusebio Di Francesco’s side have the weapons at hand to outplay a heavyweight, much as they did at home against Chelsea earlier in the competition.

As for Barca, they can afford to sit back and hit Roma on the counter, though that’s not really the style the Catalans have displayed under manager Ernesto Valverde – they’ll back themselves to dominate in Roma’s back yard and add to their already strong advantage.

The teams come into the clash on the back of contrasting domestic results: Roma were beaten 2-0 at home by Fiorentina in Serie A, while Barca continued their dominance of La Liga with a 3-1 home win over Leganes.

In head-to-head stats, Barca and Roma have met in five previous matches in European competition. The Spanish side’s victory last week took their win tally to two, with Roma having claimed one triumph in the rivalry.

Recent Champions League form, latest results first

Roma – LWLWL
Barcelona – WWDWD

Head-to-head, all competitions

Matches played 5
Roma wins 1
Barcelona wins 2
Draws 2
Roma goals 7
Barcelona goals 12