The UEFA Champions League action resumes this Tuesday, and one of the tightest groups out there has Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, BATE Borisov and Roma closely fighting for the two knockout stage tickets. In this case, Die Werkself will try to win their second home game of the tournament when they host Roma.
In order for the German side to do that, they will have to make the most out of their opportunities in front of goal, given that they're one of the lowest scoring sides in the Bundesliga. Facing them will be Roma, a team that earned a well-deserved point against Barcelona on Matchday 1, but ended up losing ground against a far inferior BATE Borisov side.
Bayer Leverkusen
Roger Schmidt's side has struggled all year long in front of goal, but they have managed to score in both of their Champions League games. In fact, they lead the goal scoring department in Group E, mostly because of their 4-1 win over BATE Borisov on Matchday One. If they want to keep up with that, they will need Stefan Kießling to step up and deliver, with the help of midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu and fellow striker Javier Hernández, who has failed to dazzle as he did during his one-year stint at Real Madrid. It is crucial for "Chicharito" to start scoring goals, since he is facing heavy pressure from fans and media, who are expecting more from him.
During the team's previous match, Leverkusen got an early lead against Barcelona, but key miscues in front of goal gave Los Blaugranas the chance to bounce back. If Schmidt's side wants to keep their next round hopes alive, they will need to change that against the Italians.
AS Roma
Things haven't quite worked out for the Giallorossi in this Champions League edition. The Italian side started off with a bang, fighting toe to toe against Barcelona for a well deserved point. But their previous game against BATE proved Rudi Garcia's men need to step it up a little bit if they want to be considered a top candidate to win the tournament.
Alessandro Florenzi scored one of the tournament's greatest goals, and even since then, he hasn't left the spotlight. Prior to Tuesday's clash, the Italian right back referred to his team's need of points before it's too late for them.
"We'll go out there with more cynicism, we'll focus on getting points. It all comes down to the games against Bayer. "Last year, we did all we could after a long absence in this tournament. This year we want to make a leap in quality. Everything is riding on tomorrow and the return. We want to have our say," Florenzi stated.
Head to head
There's only two official matches played between these two sides, and Bayer Leverkusen's got the best out of them. Both teams played against each other in the 2003-2004 edition, and the Aspirins came out with a 3-1 win at home. Their other match ended with a 1-1 draw, being Francesco Totti the only active player remaining from those meetings.
Curiously enough, this will be the second Roman team Bayer Leverkusen faces in this CL edition, having beaten Lazio in the Play-off stage. Hakan Calhanoglu, Admir Mehmedi and Karim Bellarabi scored for the red-and-black side to overcome a one-goal deficit from the first leg against the biancocelesti to make it to the group stage. Will they win their second game against an Italian side this Tuesday?
Team sheets for Bayer Leverkusen vs Roma
Bayer's lineup: Leno, Tah, Papadopoulos, Wendell, Ömer Toprak, Donati, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Kramer, Bellarabi, Kampl, Hernández.
Roma's lineup: Szczęsny, Rüdiger, Digne, Torosidis, Manolas, Nainggolan, Pjanić, De Rossi, Florenzi, Salah, Gervinho
Bayer's subs: Kresic - Ramalho, Mehmedi, Jedvaj, Boenisch, Brandt, Yurchenko.
Roma's subs: To follow.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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