UEFA Champions League: Roma vs Chelsea preview

We're expecting another spectacular encounter in Champions League Group C on Wednesday as Premier League champions Chelsea travel to the Italian capital to face AS Roma at the Olympic Stadium. The reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge earlier in October ended 3-3 after Chelsea had held a 2-0 lead and Roma fought back to lead 3-2. Before that, the two teams had met at the same stage of the competition back in 2008 and Chelsea won 1-0 at home while AS Roma secured a 3-1 victory in Italy.

Roma seem to have steadied the ship after the 1-0 home defeat against Serie A leaders Napoli on October 14, they secured the 3-3 draw in London days after that loss and then went on to secure three consecutive league wins, all by the same score line: 1-0. Last weekend they defeated Bologna at home but they will need to do a lot better than that to get the three points against Chelsea. Emerson, Rick Karsdorp and Kostas Manolas are injured and won't be able to play in Tuesday's match.

Chelsea had a similar path with Roma, they were coming from a shocking 2-1 defeat at Crystal Palace when they drew 3-3 with the Italians in London and then grabbed three consecutive Premier League victories. Last weekend they won 1-0 at Bournemouth thanks to a goal from Eden Hazard. The Blues lead the Champions League group with a two-point advantage over Roma and five points over Atletico Madrid, but a defeat in Rome could put their qualification in serious risk. Victor Moses and N'Golo Kante remain injured.

Probable line-ups:

Roma: Alisson - Peres, Fazio, Jesus, Kolarov - Nainggolan, De Rossi, Strootman - Florenzi, Dzeko, Perotti

Chelsea: Courtois - Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill - Zappacosta, Fabregas, Bakayoko, Alonso - Pedro, Hazard - Morata

My prediction: 2-2 draw.

Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:

Roma win - 2.70
Draw - 3.39
Chelsea win - 2.75

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