Francesco Totti & Raman Chibsah
Francesco Totti (left) is likely to start on the bench for Roma against Real Madrid Reuters

Real Madrid travel to the Stadio Olimpico for a pivotal Champions League round of 16 first leg clash against Roma on 17 February.

Where to watch live

Kick-off is set for 7.45pm GMT. The game will be broadcast live on BT Sport Europe.

Overview

Roma bounced back from a 1-0 defeat to Serie A leaders Juventus last month by going on a four-game winning run, including a 3-1 victory against Carpi at the weekend. The Italian side are looking to reach the quarter-final stage of the Champions League for the first time since 2008.

Luciano Spalletti is set to have veterans Franceso Totti and Daniele De Rossi available for the match, with the duo expected to recover in time from their calf injuries. Winger Mohamed Salah (thigh) is a doubt.

With five wins out of six, Real Madrid have a near-perfect record in La Liga since Zinedine Zidane took over as coach from Rafael Benitez. However, the Spanish giants have not won on their last eight visits to Italy.

Defender Marcelo is likely to start against Roma after overcoming a shoulder problem, but Pepe (foot) and Gareth Bale (calf) are both out.

What managers say

Luciano Spalletti: "The players know which road they need to go down. This was a real performance [against Carpi] and it will help us identify some key strengths that will take us far. The Champions League gives us extra motivation, so let's keep hold of the buzz from this match and use that extra level of conviction that perhaps we've been missing. It's going to be a very tough game but we want to go for it. We'll definitely make sure we show up."

Zinedine Zidane: "Mistakes are always going to happen, but I'm not worried about them. We're prepared for Roma and I'm happy with the team. I don't know if it was our most complete game [against Athletic Bilbao], but the most important thing is that we gave our all. The best thing is that we won because our opponents were difficult. You can never be the sole owner of the ball and be the only team to create chances, but we must keep our mistakes to a minimum."

Form guide

  • Roma: WWWWL
  • Last result: Carpi 1-3 Roma
  • Real Madrid: WWWDW
  • Last result: Real Madrid 4-2 Athletic Bilbao

Betting odds (888sport)

  • Roma win: 7/2
  • Draw: 37/13
  • Real Madrid win: 4/5

Team news

Roma possible XI: Szczesny; Manolas, De Rossi, Rudiger; Florenzi, Pjanic, Perotti, Keita, El Shaarawy; Nainggolan; Dzeko

Real Madrid possible XI: Navas; Danilo, Varane, Ramos, Carvajal; Modric, Kroos, Isco; Rodriguez, Benzema, Ronaldo