Barcelona looks to advance past Roma to UCL Semifinals

After getting a big win in the first leg, Barcelona heads to Rome to take on AS Roma in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.

Barcelona will look to advance to the Champions League semifinals when they face AS Roma at the Stadio Olimpico in the second leg of their tie. Ernesto Valverde’s team has a healthy lead after the first leg as they won 4-1 at Camp Nou last week. The Italian power will need a big comeback to advance. Barca is coming off of a win against Leganes at the weekend that stretched their unbeaten run in La Liga to a record-tying 38 games. Meanwhile, Roma lost at home in Serie A action against Fiorentina.

Once again, Philippe Coutinho can’t play in Champions League games for Barca because he is cup-tied after playing for Liverpool in Europe’s biggest club football competition. In addition to that, French defender Lucas Digne is not expected to play as he recovers from a muscle injury he picked up with the national team. The biggest concern, however, is with Sergio Busquets. The Spanish midfielder was out of action for a few games with a foot problem. Despite the injury, he did play in the first leg against Roma while resting against Leganes this past weekend.

Lionel Messi might start on the bench if Valverde decides to rest the superstar forward. He was on the bench in Barca’s 2-2 draw against Sevilla before coming on and saving a point for the Blaugrana. With a three-goal advantage going into the second leg, resting Messi would be a good thing. However, Valverde doesn’t want Roma to have any chance at coming back so Messi will likely start as usual.

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Messi notched a hat-trick against Leganes on Saturday, so if he was reportedly unfit while doing that, that is not a good sign for Roma. Roma midfielder Cengiz Under could play against Barca if his hamstring strain heals up. In addition to Under, Diego Perotti may not be able to play. However, Radja Nainggolan is expected to return for this game after missing the first leg due to injury.

Roma’s away goal late in the first leg gives them some hope going into the second leg. Despite the deficit, Roma will come out motivated to make a crazy comeback against Barca. The defense must be stout and with Marc Andre ter Stegen on great form, it will be tough for Roma to get good chances. The Italian side still has a lot of creative players that can make things happen with the ball.

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Overall, look for Roma to start this game aggressively because they need at least three goals to have a shot at advancing. Barca should start a bit defensive and then grow into the game with some attacking pace. The fans in Italy will be crazy at the Stadio Olimpico, so the Blaugrana must keep their composure. It should be a fun match between Roma and Barcelona for the right to go to the Champions League semifinals.