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Group F of the Champions League will be underway on matchday 2 as last season’s winners FC Barcelona begin their title defense against Italian giants AS Roma away at Rome in their opening fixture. As champions, Barca by default were seeded in Pot 1 while Roma, who were Serie A runners up last term, were placed in Pot 2. It’s a special occasion for the manager Luis Enrique who returns to the Stadio Olimpico after two seasons since he left his managerial post
Team News
Barcelona have started the new season on a high note winning all of their first three games including a significant away victory against Atletico Madrid. With all nine points from their first three games, the Blaugranas have enjoyed good form in the initial stages of the season. Lionel Messi was left on the bench against Atletico this weekend due to his second son’s birth but is expected to star alongside Luis Suarez and Neymar up front.
Thomas Vermaelen was injured in the win at Atletico Madrid, but Gerard Pique’s domestic ban doesn’t apply for Champions League games so he’ll come straight back in to partner Javier Mascherano. Sergi Roberto who has replaced the injured Dani Alves at right back is expected to start and other than that, Barca will be fielding their strongest 11 and are the favourites to win the game.
Rudi Garcia’s Roma have also started their season well, with new signings Edin Dzeko, Iago Falque and Mohamed Salah all settling in quickly, but this will be a step up in class that they’ll do well to take anything from.
Roma are likely to revert to a side similar to the one which won their biggest game of the season so far—the 2-1 victory over Juventus in Serie A which so derailed the campaign of last season’s Champions League runners-up.
Dzeko will spearhead the attack and look for support from Falque and Salah from out wide, meaning that Francesco Totti might have to be content with a place on the bench as he seeks a landmark 300th goal for Roma in all competitions.
Live telecast and Kickoff
The match kicks off at 12:15 AM IST on Wednesday (7:45 PM BST and 8:45 PM local time) at the Stadio Olimpico. The match will be telecast live on Ten Action.
Team Form
Except for the 4-0 thumping by Athletic Bilbao in the Super Copa De Espana fist leg, Barcelona have not lost a single match especially in the league where they have won their first three encounters. They have scored four and have conceded only once.
Roma have been in excellent form too as they have drawn their first game and won the next two, including a crucial 2-1 victory against champions Juventus. They are fifth in the Serie A table.
AS Roma: W-W-L-D-W-W (Last match won 2-0 vs Frosinone)
FC Barcelona: W-L-D-W-W-W ( Last match won 2-1 vs Atletico Madrid)
Head-to-head & Key stats
- Barca and Roma have only met twice in the Champions League prior to this fixture where the La Liga giants have lost one and drawn the other
- In both fixtures, current Barça boss Luis Enrique and AS Roma legend and current captain Francesco Totti were in the starting line up.
- Against Italian opponents, the Catalan outfit have played 52 matches and have won 24 times with 13 losses and 14 draws.
- Roma exited from the competition in the group stages last term
Team Lineups
AS Roma (4-3-3): Szcz?sny; Florenzi, Rüdiger, Manolas, Digne; Nainggolan, De Rossi, Keita; Falqué, Džeko, Salah.
FC Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Piqué, Mathieu, Alba; Rakiti?, Busquets, Iniesta; Suárez, Messi, Neymar.
Prediction
This is the first meeting between the two sides in an official competition since the 2001/02 clash where Roma outclassed the Spanish giants 3-0 in the first leg and secured a 1-1 draw in the second leg. Their last meeting came recently during the Joan Gamper friendly game which Barcelona won by a convincing 3-0 scoreline but not before some heated altercations most notably involving Lionel Messi.
With MSN at Enrique’s disposal, it will be an uphill task for the Italians to stop them from scoring goals. However, if they can manage to contain the devastating front three, they may be able to squeeze out a result at home.
Predicted score: AS Roma 2-3 FC Barcelona
Betting odds (bet 365)
Roma - 9/2
Barcelona - 4/7
Draw - 3/1
