Barcelona are firm favourites to progress to the next round of the Champions League (CL) and are in the quarter-finals for the 11th time in a row. Roma, on the other hand, haven’t reached this stage since season 2007/’08, when they were knocked out by Manchester United.
As the home team, Barcelona will be further boosted by the fact that they have only lost two of the last 23 clashes against Serie A sides (W15, D6, L2).
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Three of the last four campaigns have ended at the quarter-final stage for Barcelona. Last season, after the historic comeback over PSG, they were beaten by another Italian side, Juventus (3-0 on aggregate).
Barcelona, despite being favourites, would be well-advised to take Roma seriously. The Italian side have only conceded an average of one goal per game so far in Europe – a record they will try to maintain at the Camp Nou.
Possible starting lineups
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba; Paulinho, Busquets, Rakitić, Iniesta; Suárez, Messi
Roma: Alisson; Florenzi, Fazio, Manolas, Kolarov; Nainggolan, De Rossi, Strootman; El Shaarawy, Džeko, Perotti
The hosts looked less than immortal in their last game against Sevilla, allowing 21 shots for the first time ever. Sergio Busquets’ absence was sorely felt, but the pass master is back, alongside the undisputed superstar of the side…