Up 2-0 from the first leg
There's not much chance of a Conquistador like turnaround in the Spanish capital
Tea or Coffee. Adrian Chiles or an ear infection. Watching Newcastle or watching paint dry. All are great debates about which is better. Top of that list though is Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. In the last six or seven weeks, the pendulum has swung back to the Argentinian, after CR7 took the Ballon d’Or. He’ll show that class on Wednesday.
Madrid have only lost three of their last 34 Champions League matches. Cristiano’s scored in 23 of them, often braces. He’s got four goals against Roma in history, and 74 in his 70 CL appearances so far. When Ronaldo scores in Europe, his side usually win. But they are still twelve points off of Barcelona at the top of La Liga, and need to be careful about slipping further behind city rivals Atleti.
The first leg defeat to Madrid is the only loss Roma have suffered in 2016. 15 goals in their last four domestic games is a perfect warm up for one of the biggest tasks in the club’s history. But they’ll look at the Blancos history in the round of 16 for hope. Yes, Madrid have advanced in the last five campaigns, but the previous six before them saw exits for Real. And to some un-noteworthy teams – Lyon, Arsenal, Juventus, Liverpool, Bayern – and Roma in 2008. They led after the first leg in two of those six games.
Both had crushing wins at the weekend in preparation. Madrid crushed Celta 7-1, with Ronaldo getting four of the goals, while Roma were impressive in seeing off Fiorentina 4-1 at the Stadio Olimpico. But scoring three times at the Bernabeu is about as rare as an Aston Villa win these days. They have to go all out attack, and that usually ends badly in Madrid.
- Full Madrid vs Roma betting on this link
Ronaldo to score two or more is which is decent value given his form. A wincast with him is . Maybe keep an eye on the fit-again Gareth Bale. A wincast with the Welshman is . Roma are long at to win the match, but the clever money goes on Madrid at