Real Madrid might be the third best team in La Liga right now, but that isn't stopping it from being one of the top favorites to win the Champions League. AS Roma knows that it's going to need a win in this match to have any chance of advancing to the last eight, but there aren't many, perhaps even including inside that locker room, who believe there's much of a chance against one of the best teams in the world.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
AS Roma +330
Real Madrid -115
Draw +270
Over/Under 2.5 (over -156)
ODDS ANALYSIS
Real Madrid knows that scoring a couple goals here on the road is going to be paramount to take all of the pressure off of the return trip to the Bernabeu in a couple weeks. The Galacticos are the odds-on favorites to take the big lead in this home-and-home series at -115, and they're clearly the reason why this total is so high by Champions League standards at 2.5 and -156 vig on the over.
KEY INJURIES
Gareth Bale hasn't played the same type of role at Real Madrid that he did at Tottenham, but he still could be a huge difference-maker at the Bernabeu. He won't play on Wednesday thanks to a calf injury, but he could be ready for the second leg of the proceedings. Marcelo, Real's left back, has been battling a shoulder injury and is questionable for this match after not playing against Athletic Bilbao.
Kevin Strootman, who hasn't played in almost two full calendar years, is set to get back to action for Roma. He won't be debuted in a match quite like this one, but just like Bale, he could be ready to be back in the saddle in a couple weeks on Spanish soil.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"We've deserved victory because we wasted a lot of chances to add more goals, but we can't have lapses if we want to beat a team like Real. That's a sign we have a lot more work to do psychologically." – AS Roma manager Luciano Spalletti after a 3-1 win over Carpi on Saturday
RECENT FORM
Roma has won four matches in a row, its best form of the season. Roma isn't going to win Serie A this year, but the wins put the team back in control of its own destiny to reach the Champions League next year. It's also great form to be in at the moment heading into a soccer match of this type of magnitude.
Real claimed its third straight match in strong form on Saturday against Athletic Bilbao. The Galacticos haven't been beaten in a fixture since December 13, and there have been some real blowouts along the way as well as you'd expect in a league which is such as top heavy as La Liga.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
For as important as Bale is for a match like this one, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema can do plenty of damage up front. These two have combined for 40 goals this year, and CR7 has been in some of the best form of his career at the Bernabeu.
Wojciech Szczesny has played well in the Roma net of late, and that's really the main reason why the Italian side has been in top form. Having such a veteran presence in the pipes is going to be huge.
We think both teams are going to end up getting on the board in this match, but there's just going to be too much forward-thinking out of the Galacticos to ultimately get anything out of this for the Italians.
Real Madrid 2, AS Roma 1
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