Roma host Real Madrid on Wednesday evening looking for a foothold in a Champions League tie that could see them qualify for the quarter finals for the first time since 2008.
They will be up against the 10-time winners of the competition and a coach with whom they are very familiar. Zinedine Zidane played eight times for Juventus against the Giallorossi, losing just once, and then added another five encounters once playing for his current club, again losing just one of those fixtures.
The last time the two met in the Champions League, Roma emerged victorious, winning both legs 2-1 to reach the 2008 quarter finals. Those two wins were the Giallorossi’s only victories in the eight meetings to date, with Francesco Totti scoring in a 1-1 draw on the only other occasion they avoided defeat.
The Giallorossi enter the game in good domestic form following the return of coach Luciano Spalletti, who twice guided the Lupi to the last eight in his previous stint with the club. His side have now won four games in a row in Serie A, though they qualified from Group E with a solitary victory over the six matches.
Meanwhile Los Blancos qualified without defeat and are hunting out a sixth straight spot in the Champions League last eight. The Spanish giants, however, do not enjoy travelling to Italy. Their last visit saw a defeat to Juventus last season, while it was 29 years ago when they last overcame a Serie A side in a knockout European clash.
Ronaldo is top of the all-time goalscoring tree with 88 Champions League strikes, with Karim Benzema in joint 8th on 46. Interestingly, another strike against the Giallorossi will lift the Frenchman above Filippo Inzaghi and Eusebio.
Neither coach has any suspensions to worry about at this stage, though both will be missing key players through injury. Zidane will be without the services of Welsh wing wizard Gareth Bale, with Marcelo and Pepe both also doubtful to be fit in time to feature.
Spalletti’s worries are centred on his two veterans, with neither Totti nor Daniele De Rossi guaranteed to make the starting line-up. He may choose to call upon Seydou Keita, who enjoyed a good record against Real Madrid while playing in Spain.
Form Guide: Roma (L-W-W-W-W) Real Madrid (W-D-W-W-W)
Roma: Szczesny; Digne, Rudiger, Manolas, Florenzi; Nainggolan, Pjanic; Salah, Keita, El Shaarawy; Dzeko.
Real Madrid: Navas; Danilo, Ramos, Varane, Carvajal; Kroos, Kovacic, Modric; Ronaldo, Benzema, Rodriguez
