Barcelona will hope to come up with a better performance against AS Roma, with the Spanish champions having drawn against the Italian side during their Champions League opener in September. Barcelona, since then, have been in scintillating form in the Champions League, with three victories on the trot, and will be eager to win their fourth straight Champions League match when they square off against AS Roma at the Camp Nou on Tuesday.
With victories over Bayer Leverkusen and BATE both home and away, Barcelona stay comfortable at the top of Group E with 10 points. Roma, who are expected to provide some serious competition at the Camp Nou, lie second in the standings table. Barcelona just need a draw against AS Roma to secure a knockout berth.
However, the Barcelona players, who are on cloud nine after a thumping win over Real Madrid in the EL Classico on Saturday, will go all out for a win and book their berth as the best team in the group.
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique believes his team can come up with an even better performance, which is an alarming sign for Roma, who are fourth in the Serie A.
"We see this match as an opportunity to finish first in the group. I believe we have played better [than on Saturday], although 4-0 against Real Madrid attracts more attention. I can't compare it to the 6-2 victory [at the Santiago Bernabéu in May 2009]," the UEFA official website quoted Enrique as saying.
Roma, who will be keen to qualify for the knockout stages, have made life difficult for themselves after losing to BATE in their second game in the group. As a result, Bayer Leverkusen are just a point behind Roma.
With Bayer favourites to defeat BATE in other group fixture tonight, the German side can climb to second spot if Roma suffer a loss to Barca, which makes this match at Camp Nou a huge game for the Italian side.
"I expect a difficult match, because they (Roma) need to get a result, so the game will be very open. It is good to see Messi back on the pitch â€" we all enjoy watching him train and play," said Enrique.
Though Barcelona might have an array of stars in their line-up, which includes Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta, Roma also have some top players such as Miralem Pjanic and Edin Dzeko, who need to step up their game against Barcelona to help their team turn triumphant.
However, AS Roma's coach Rudi Garcia, who is aware of Barca's form of late, seems confident ahead of the crucial clash, as he believes any top team can be beaten on a given day.
"Football is a beautiful game and it is not always the best team who wins â€" I don't believe any team is invincible," said Garcia. "We know Barcelona will have the ball most of the time, but we have to make the best of the opportunities we get. We cannot defend throughout the entire game, because then we will lose."
Where to watch live
Get the highlights of Barcelona vs Roma HERE
Barcelona vs AS Roma champions league match is scheduled for 8.45 pm local time (1:15 am IST, 7:45 pm GMT, 2:45 pm ET) start with live coverage in India on Ten Cricket with the option of live streaming for India (and the rest of the subcontinent) on tensports.com.
UK viewers can catch the Barcelona vs AS Roma champions league match on BT Sport Extra, while the online live stream option is on Watch BT Sport Live.
US audience can catch the Barcelona vs AS Roma champions league match on Fox Sports 2 USA, ESPN Deportes TV, with the option of live streaming on Fox Sports GO.
Viewers in Spain can catch the Barcelona vs AS Roma champions league match live on TV3.
