Roma AS
Group G: Roma 9, Real Madrid 9, CSKA Moskva 4, Viktoria Plzeň 1
Roma will clinch a round of 16 place with a draw or if CSKA fail to win
Roma and Real Madrid are both within sight of the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds as they meet at the Stadio Olimpico on matchday five, when first place in Group G could be decided.
• The sides have become familiar UEFA Champions League foes in the 21st century – all 11 of their meetings have come from September 2001 onwards.
• The first six fixtures all came in the group stage, Madrid picking up four points from their two games against Roma in the 2001/02 first group stage and all six in 2004/05, while each club won their away games in the 2002/03 first group stage.
• Roma, however, ousted Madrid in the 2007/08 round of 16, winning both legs 2-1.
• Most recently, Madrid got the better of Roma in the last 16 of their triumphant 2015/16 campaign, winning 2-0 both away and home.
• Roma responded to their opening loss at Real Madrid by beating Plzeň 5-0 on matchday two, their record UEFA Champions League victory. They then won 3-0 at home to CSKA Moskva and 2-1 away, the first time their have recorded three successive European victories since November-December 2009.
• Third in Serie A in 2017/18, Roma are in the group stage for an 11th time and the fourth in five years.
• Roma, runners-up in the 1983/84 European Cup, reached the semi-finals last season, losing to Liverpool. They finished top of a group including Chelsea and Atlético Madrid, before beating Shakhtar Donetsk and Barcelona in the knockout rounds – the latter particularly memorable, as a 4-1 away defeat was followed by a 3-0 victory at the Stadio Olimpico – before succumbing to Liverpool.
• The Rome club won all three home matches in last seasons knockout rounds and five of their six matches at the Stadio Olimpico overall, drawing against Atlético Madrid on matchday one. They kept clean sheets in the first five matches, before a 4-2 win against Liverpool in the semi-final second leg.
• Roma have now won eight of their last 15 home matches in the UEFA Champions League – qualifying included – losing four.
• The Giallorossis defeat of Barcelona last season ended a run of four home games without a win against Spanish visitors, since that 2-1 scalp of Real Madrid in the 2007/08 round of 16. Roma have won only two of their last 11 games against Spanish sides, home and away (D2 L7); they had won their previous three matches before that run.
• Robin Olsen made his 50th appearance in UEFA club competition on matchday four.
• Roma have won seven of their last 11 games in all competitions, losing two; Saturdays 1-0 loss at Udinese ended a five-match unbeaten run.
• Olsen missed Saturdays defeat against Udinese with a minor thigh injury, while Lorenzo Pellegrini returned to action after suffering a thigh injury on international duty, but limped off after 78 minutes having suffered a recurrence of the problem.
• Kostas Manolas twisted his right ankle while playing for Greece against Finland in the UEFA Nations League on 15 November, going off after 27 minutes, and missed the Udinese defeat.
• Daniele De Rossi has not played since injuring his right knee during the 1-1 draw at Napoli on 28 October.
• Aleksandar Kolarov damaged a toe in Serbias UEFA Nations League 2-1 victory against Montenegro on 17 November and missed the 4-1 win against Lithuania; both played at Udinese.
• Javier Pastore was out with a calf problem between 29 September and 20 October, when he returned as substitute against SPAL; he suffered a recurrence of the injury in the game and has not played since.
• Diego Perotti has not played since picking up a calf injury in a 2-0 loss at Bologna on 23 September. Rick Karsdorp (thigh) has not played since 16 September, although he was on the bench at Udinese.