The Champions League: Citizens look to conquer The Eternal City and its eternal guardian

City need to win at Roma to progress but will be wary of 38-year-old Totti

MILAN: Roma coach Rudi Garcia believes his side will cope with the pressure of having their Champions League destiny in their owns hands tomorrow when a win at home over Manchester City would ensure they reach the last 16 for the first time since the 2010/11 campaign.

Roma looked to have taken a huge step towards reaching the knockout phase when Francesco Totti scored a 43rd minute free-kick over Group E rivals CSKA Moscow a fortnight ago.

However Roma took their eye off the ball in the dying seconds of the match and Vasily Berezutsky's floated cross evaded the entire Roma defence before sneaking inside Morgan De Sanctis's far post.

The late equaliser was likened to ‘a [Mike] Tyson punch’ by Totti, who in Moscow extended his record as the competition's oldest scorer at 38 years and 59 days.

City, Roma and CSKA all have five points each but the Giallorossi know a win secures their place in the last 16 and even a scoreless draw will be enough if CSKA fail to win at Bayern. However, if City score more than one away goal, then only a win will suffice.

“Our destiny is in our hands, and we have to make the most of this great occasion,” said the Frenchman. “We're not making calculations; all we're focused on is beating City.”

City travel to The Eternal City without Sergio Aguero, whose knee ligament injury will see him miss most of the remaining season. Aguero, the Premier League's top scorer, revived City's last-16 hopes with a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Bayern last month.

“Aguero is very difficult to replace but we have a lot of firepower. With the players we have up there I'm not too worried," said City midfielder James Milner. “We will go there to win. It won't be easy; Roma are a good team. I've played in Italy before with City and England and you get a hostile atmosphere.”

 

Of giants; tall and short

After missing the clash in Paris, Zlatan Ibrahimovic returns to face his old side at the Nou Camp and will be hoping to outshine former teammate Lionel Messi, who became the competition’s greatest ever goal-scorer with a hat-trick against APOEL.

And Barca coach Luis Enrique realises that his side will need to perform better in attack than they did in Paris, where they lost 3-2, if they are to get the win they need to oust the French giants at the top.

“I hope that their defence will suffer a little more than was the case in the first game,” said the 44-year-old.

However, the Asturian added his side will not throw caution to the wind. “They have got Ibrahimovic back and several other important players were rested ahead of this game,” he said. “I am expecting a side not unlike the one we played in Paris and with lots of attacking possibilities.”

Blanc will have virtually a full pack of cards to choose from in terms of personnel but is disappointed with their current league form. “We will have to be much more aggressive and determined in Barcelona," said Blanc.

Meanwhile, PSG captain Thiago Silva fired a warning shot at the Blaugrana. “Even an Ibra at 90% is a handful for most teams," said Silva.

 

 
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