Preview: Roma vs. Real Madrid

Zinedine Zidane will take charge of his first Champions League match as a manager when his Real Madrid side visit Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday night.

The 10-time European champions travel to the Italian capital looking to gain a first-leg advantage in their last-16 tie.

Roma

© AFP

For Roma, Wednesday's meeting may be a daunting occasion for a number of reasons.

Not only do they welcome the most successful side in European history, in addition to their star-studded current squad, but it is also uncharted territory for many of the club's players.

Roma have not reached the knockout stages of the Champions League since 2011, when they were unceremoniously dumped out at this stage of the competition in a 6-2 aggregate loss to Shakhtar Donetsk.

You have to go back to 2008 for their last appearance in the quarter-finals, although that season will provide some welcome familiarities for Roma heading into this tie.

Before their quarter-final exit at the hands of eventual winners Manchester United, complete with Cristiano Ronaldo, Roma knocked Madrid out in the last 16, with Luciano Spalletti in the Italian outfit's dugout and stalwarts Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi on the field.

All three should be involved again this week following Spalletti's return to Roma in January, since when they have experienced a notable upturn in form, losing just one of their six outings and winning each of the last four - their best run of form since September 2014.

That solitary defeat came at the hands of the winning machine that is Juventus, and while Roma have been the closest thing to domestic competition for the Old Lady in recent years, the form that led to Rudi Garcia's exit this term has left them fourth in Serie A, two points outside the Champions League places.

Roma will be hopeful that their improvement since Spalletti's return translates to European football too. The Italians scraped through the group stages to qualify behind Barcelona, winning just one of their six group games and picking up only six points - four fewer than the next lowest total from teams to qualify for the last 16.

Indeed, no team has ever made it through to the last 16 with fewer points than Roma managed in Group E, while their tally of 16 goals conceded is also a Champions League record for teams to have qualified for the knockout rounds.

They have also won just two of their last 15 Champions League outings, and have kept just one clean sheet in their last 20 appearances in the competition, although that did come on matchday six of this year's group stage.

Recent form: DLDWLD Recent form (all competitions): DLWWWW

Real Madrid

© AFP

It will be all eyes on Zidane as far as the visitors are concerned on Wednesday as the three-time World Player of the Year looks to add another feather to his Champions League cap.

The Frenchman scored one of the greatest goals in the history of the competition to win the trophy for Madrid in the 2001-02 final against Bayer Leverkusen, before acting as Carlo Ancelotti's assistant when Los Blancos finally claimed 'La Decima' two seasons ago.

A victory as manager would complete the set for Zidane, and so far he has gone about answering questions over his managerial ability in emphatic fashion.

Since succeeding Rafael Benitez in January, Zidane has watched his Madrid side pick up five wins and a draw, scoring 23 goals in the process at an average of almost four per game.

Despite that, there have been few slip-ups from La Liga title rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, so Real remain third in the table, four points adrift of leaders Barca having played a game more than their great rivals.

Their main problems recently have come away from home, where Madrid have won just one of their last five games, which will be a concern against a Roma side who have only lost once at home all season.

However, Los Blancos are one of just two teams to remain unbeaten in the Champions League this term, keeping five clean sheets and scoring a joint-high 19 goals on their way to topping Group A ahead of runaway Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

It is now 19 consecutive years that Madrid have made it into the knockout stages of this competition - an all-time record for the Champions League - and in each of the last five seasons they have made it to at least the semi-finals.

It was against an Italian team that they slipped up in the semis last term, though, losing to Juventus, and Madrid have now lost their last eight two-legged knockout ties against Serie A opposition, a run that stretches back to a 1987-88 European Cup triumph over Napoli.

Recent form: WWDWWW Recent form (all competitions): WWDWWW

Team News

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Real Madrid will once again be without Gareth Bale for this match as he continues to struggle with a persistent calf problem.

The visitors should not be short of goals, though - Karim Benzema has scored 16 in his last 12 outings, including two hat-tricks, while Ronaldo has found the back of the net 19 times in his last 14 games.

Marcelo (shoulder) and Pepe (foot) both missed the match at the weekend, but the former is back in the squad and could be recalled by Zidane.

Totti, who played against Zidane on a number of occasions, including the Euro 2000 final, is expected to be fit following a calf problem, while the same applies to fellow long-serving midfielder De Rossi.

Spalletti is expected to stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation he has used in the last two outings, although top scorer Miralem Pjanic could return to the starting lineup.

Roma possible starting lineup: Szczesny; Florenzi, Manolas, Rudiger, Digne, Nainggolan, Vainqueur, Salah, De Rossi, Pjanic; Dzeko

Real Madrid possible starting lineup: Navas; Danilo, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Kroos, Isco; James, Benzema, Ronaldo

Head To Head

These two sides have met eight times in the Champions League before, with Real Madrid just edging the head-to-head record with four wins to Roma's three.

Roma won the most recent of those in 2008, but have lost three of their other four two-legged ties against Spanish opposition. Their home record against La Liga sides stands at six wins, one draw and five defeats from 11 meetings.

Madrid, meanwhile, have failed to win any of their last eight away games against Italian teams, drawing four and losing four of those.

The Dugout Podcast

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We say: Roma 1-3 Real Madrid

Roma have certainly improved under Spalletti, but Real Madrid are scoring for fun at the moment and will fancy their chances of building a commanding first-leg lead ahead of next month's return at the Bernabeu. With Ronaldo and Benzema in their current form, it is hard to see Roma stopping them from doing exactly that.