AS Roma have to produce a good fight against Real Madrid in their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 second leg encounter on Tuesday to reduce their goal deficit and have one last chance to progress further in the competition this season.
Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Jese Rodriguez at the Stadio Olimpico last month gave the Los Blancos a two-goal cushion going into their second leg encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Serie A side not only have to show the attacking teeth right from the start of the match but also have to get that confidence of performing amidst a majority of fans who will be cheering for Real Madrid.
It seems difficult for Roma against the La Liga side in their match to register a win and progress to the next competition, Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane is not willing to taking the Italian giants lightly.
"Roma are a good team but I'm more worried about what we are going to do. Their forwards are very good," Zidane told UEFA ahead of the game. "If you don't do your job properly, you can be eliminated."
"For me the most important match is always the next one. As a coach, you want to be involved in games like this. You can't explain with words what you feel. We have to defend when we don't have the ball and try to hurt our opponents when we do have it. It's not true that Roma have no chance," the France football legend explained.
Nothing is impossible in football and Roma coach Luciano Spalletti knows that. Going for the kill right from the start is the aim of the Italian side in the game and being mentally strong for the entire duration of the match holds the key for achieving the impossible.
"I'm asking my team to do the impossible," Spalletti said. "We have to score early then we'll see what happens; it could change the balance of the tie. We mustn't be weak mentally and play to lose. If anyone thinks like that with me, they won't even train."
"We must be able to choose when to attack or hold off. We must be confident when taking the initiative. The result in the first leg was harsh seeing how we performed. We were unlucky. We've been improving game by game and this team has enormous potential," the Italian coach added.
Real Madrid come into the game at the back of a massive 7-1 victory over Celta Vigo in the La Liga last weekend. Portugal hotshot Cristiano Ronaldo scored as many as four times in the game.
Roma also come into the game at the back of a 4-1 victory over Fiorentina in the Italian league last weekend.
Where to watch live
Real Madrid vs AS Roma is scheduled to kick-off from the Santiago Bernabeu at 8:45 p.m. CET (1:15 a.m. IST, 7:45 p.m. GMT, 2:45 p.m. ET), March 8.
Viewers in India can catch the game on Ten Action, while the streaming option of the game is also available on tensports.com.
UK viewers can catch the game on BT Sport Europe and BT Sport Showcase, while the online live stream option is on BT Sport Live. The BT Sport app will also show the match Live.
US viewers can catch the game on Fox Sports 1 USA and ESPN Deportes. The option of live streaming is also available on FoxSoccer2Go and Fox Sports Go. The radio commentary is available on ESPN Deportes.
People in Spain can catch the game on Antena 3 and TV 3. People in Italy can tune into Premium Sport HD and Roma Channel.
