Champions League preview and odds: Barcelona vs. Roma

Published on: 23/11/2015

Champions League preview and odds: Barcelona vs. Roma

November 24, 2015 19:45pm - Camp Nou

Champions League

Barcelona can wrap up qualification for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League for the 12th consecutive season on Tuesday night when they face Italian side Roma in the penultimate round of group stage fixtures.

Barca out to finish job in style

A draw against Roma will be enough to take the reigning champions through as Group E winners. However, they could still qualify on the night if they lose and Bayer Leverkusen do not win against FC BATE in the other group match.

Coach Luis Enrique knows Roma well having spent a period at the helm of the Italian club in 2011/12. He also faced Roma in this competition as a Barcelona player back in the 2001/02 campaign. When the clubs played in the Italian capital back in September, the spoils were shared in a 1-1 draw.

Barca have won their last eight home games in this competition and come into this game on the back of a 4-0 demolition of Real Madrid in last weekends El Clasico league match.

Roma also with a chance to progress

If Roma can win in Catalonia and Bayer Leverkusen fail to beat BATE, the Italians will progress to the Last 16 of the competition. However, no Champions League team has beaten Barcelona in their own backyard since Bayern Munich prevailed 3-0 back in May 2013, and the Romans do not have great track record away from home in this competition.

Team news

Lionel Messi and Ivan Rakitic both returned from injury for the home side at the weekend and are in line to feature. However, Douglas and Rafinha will miss out, while Javier Mascherano is also a doubt.

Meanwhile, Roma will be without the quartet of Elio Capradossi, Gervinho, Mohamed Salah and Franceso Totti, while Daniele de Rossi is a doubt with a thigh injury..

Recent form (All competitions)

Barcelona: WWWWD

Roma: DWWLW

Betting odds and tips

Barcelona are in irresistible form right now and also have the luxury of a fit-again Lionel Messi at their disposal. As a result, they will go into this game as huge favourites and punters will not find much value in the Home Win market.

Neymar and Luis Suárez have scored 23 goals between them in the league this season and both could feature on Tuesday night. You can back either player to score anytime at 5/6 with Betfred.

Roma have scored in 15 of their last 16 competitive fixtures away from home (all competitions) and Barcelona have only failed to score at home once in their last 35 home matches. You can back Both Teams to Score at 4/5 with Betfair.

Published on: 23/11/2015

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (23/11/2015 13:32:01) but are subject to change.