VotD: Cici-nooooooo.

montella for baptista!!at least dat old guy can pass and maybe create chances than the beasty baptista..baptista is good only when he play alone up front.

Wow spelling mistakes galore...

Theyve done a lot of talking, yes - but clubs and teams respind differently to this. I think it could be a good thing, because the team knows how well they can play when they do. They'll rememeber the Inter game a couple of weeks ago, as well as recent CHL wins such as the 3-1 v. Chelsea, the 2-1 v. R.Madrid times two, and the 2-0 v. Lyon. On top of this, its turn the shit up - as well as itimidates the visitors. I mean, Arsenal are NOT the best away team, and the Olimpico is NOT an easy place.

I see this game as either a draw or a 2-0 win to us. The thing I fear the most is if Arsenal were to draw first blood. Then we have to score 3, and I dont think the team has the mentality to fight back from that!

How awful were we against Arsenal in the first leg? I mean if we were really as bad as I understand it and we managed to get away with a 1-0 loss, any great performance from us could see us through. I am seeing a 2-1 win or a 1-1 draw as the most likely results, both of which will knock us out (unfortunately).

Who here agrees that Roma have done way too much talking for their own good? They should just focus on the game without firing up their opponents.

http://www.fansonline.net/tott...

Jonthan Woodgate isnt really up-to-date with what players are on our team... Mancini who?

I would love to see Baptista and Menez/Taddei on the wings flanking Totti and Vucinic up front with Brighi and Aquilani mopping up everything in the middle.

*we've

So far I only missed 2 Roma games this season so I know how Jeremy plays Sneakers but that guy is ridiculous addicted to the grass recently. Baptista himself has been invisible since Arsenal game. Besides Totti didn't play bad in the first leg, I think we're discussed it over and over. No midfield supports and an invisible guy to be your partner, how should Totti performed then? After all Totti is a must in wednesday match, it might be his last u never know.

Yes Bapti gol really has to bring his A game.

Everyone does.

I see Brighinho having a monster game and scoring.

Baptista is very hot or cold we need ur best game yet big boy. I also believe this is Brighi's most important game to prove hes an international player. No ddr beside him hes gonna have the major responsibility to breaking down the quick attacks of Arsenal and spreading out the ball

yup bashar, that would be the albiol i was speaking of. he has only scored 1 og officially in the past three weeks but 2 total in the past couple of months. maybe he did it on purpose cus he wasn't getting paid like gallas threatened to at chelsea.

keys to unlock the Arsenal D
Foundation:Vucinic!, Totti, Baptista
X-factors: Menez, Aquilani to a lesser extent, but with recent form in mind Brighi(beautiful shot v inter), Riise(thunderbolt)
and set pieces are roma's most likely sources of goals and creativity

get better soon cicero!

Aside from last year's trip to italy...

I think Baptista needs to just be a horse in the middle and come in for attacking support here and there.

Defense comes first, or we can forget about winning this one. Hopefully Arsenal folds like they have in high pressure away fixtures in the past.

Kurdt, I said that IF Totti is in the same conditions as he was in the first leg, then I'd rather not see him start. If he is at 75%, he should start (sorry, Daniele). But in the first leg he was closer to 33%, in my opinion. Vucinic and (on his day) Menez can give any back line fits, especially a fragile one like Arsenal's. And Baptista, assuming he re-learns how to trap the ball, can hold onto the ball and allow the team to move forward.

Menez had one game where he was atrocious, right after he had the flu. Have you watched any games before that Kurdt? Several people on this site have said they see him as an X-factor in the CL. His talent is undeniable. If Totti isn't healthy enough to crack long distance shots and fight off double teams, we have no choice but to not play him. This isn't 2006/2007 Totti we're talking about.

That's harsh Daniele.. I feel he had a few good moments against Udinese and with some match sharpness he would have scored 1 or 2. But this is not a game in which to test his match sharpness in. Play him in a couple games that we are up 2-0 or 3-0 in

It's safe to say Monty shouldn't leave the bench unless its 5-0 or he is getting up to clap on the last day of his career.

I wouldn't start Montella. He'll have a hard time physically and we can't afford to waste easy opportunities.

SERIOUSLY CHARLES? you want Baptista over Totti? Didn't you heard bout both Baptista and Jeremy's new nicknames? I choose Totti Vuci and even Montella anywhere this day.

I really don't know if we can be picky. I just want us to field a strong starting eleven and have at least 1 person ready to come off the bench. haha.

Chuck you are right.

We can't afford to have a 75% Totti imo.

Although we have seen him work wonders before.

Either way DAJE ROMA.

Also, Totti hasn't been practicing. He's been doing jogging and sprinting, but nothing with the ball. This may sound sacrilegious, but if he's going to be in the same conditions as in the first leg, I'd rather see Baptista, Vucinic, and Menez up front.

The logic on Man Utd is ridiculous.. I agree that they are better than last year due to the vast squad of reliable players they have at their disposal but not by much. Man Utd are 20% better than last year? On what basis? They only have 4 pts more than they had at this stage last year in a weaker league than last year. They scored 7 goals less and conceded 3 less. I don't know where this 20% comes from.

Ronaldo is as good as last year? This year he has 24 goals and 7 assists in 32 games in all competitions. Last year he had 42 goals and 8 assists in 45 games. Not even close.

Martin Samuel and Oliver Holt's comments I generally tend to either agree or understand the logic behind. But that first muppet just confuses me.

*things

thanks, i guess it is just one of those "we'll wait and see" sort of thing. Anyways, speaking of Vuci's brilliance.... here is a new ermes video on him, sorry if it was already posted
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Pizarro's MRI was negative, and he said his leg was feeling better, but he was non-committal about playing on Wednesday. Aquilani says he's going to grit his teeth and play through the pain, but that would be a career first, so I'll believe it when I see it.

A possible solution is to move Baptista back to the midfield; that's where he says he likes to play, even though he hasn't done it in a while.

I am praying that Vucinic's brilliance takes us through, but this is going to be REALLY tough.

will pizarro be fit for the game, saw him lim off vs udinese, judging from the first leg his contribution will help tremendously

Nice one Michele.. Although I find that Roma setting their sites on the CL final has a touch of arrogance I don't like. It is not our destiny to lift the trophy yet (we may talk about that if we get to the semis or the final). Right now we have a tough round of 16 game to play and then we have to go through the likes of Man Utd, Barcelona, Inter, Liverpool, etc... We proved we can do it once a year but not consistently enough.

That article is rubbish, even the logic is questionable. Those people are so proud with all the foreign players in their league and how could they even think that their foreign players are better than the other leagues. Just count for the baloon d'or winners and you get a pretty picture who is the winner here. It's useless to argue with Epl fans, I don't really care about them at all. They will never understand us and I choose to never want to understand them either.

Hey guys. Did this over at the Juve site yesterday, but I've been throwing some stuff up on my blog about the CL. Wrote up a few paragraphs on Roma, just on what it means to the club. Not really a preview but I think you guys will like it. Check it out.

http://thecalciocorner.blogspo...

Thanks.

Right on, Bash. Not to mention big games in England are cagey, boring, 1-0, 0-0 affairs with little chances. Compared to (sorry) Inter 4-0 Roma, or Inter 3-3 Roma, or Juve 4-2 Milan.

Oooh.. what I'd give to see Roma through. The reaction of those premiership fans would be priceless. I even find myself supporting Juve to progress sometimes despite the fact that I also like Chelsea. I also would like to see Real Madrid through.

Inter can go out for all I care. I don't give a damn there.

At least (with the exception of Inter) we can call ourselves Italian teams, the English compare their league with ours. However, our league is filled with Italians, theirs is filled with Foreigners.

And there is no way that the premiership has been more exciting than Spain or Italy this year. A lot of English pundits, like the ones on the Guardian podcast, have complained that the quality in the premier league overall has dropped drastically and I would have to agree judging by the games I have seen this year. In Italy you have fantastic games each week and Italy has not witnessed so few 0-0 results for a long while.

Any team from 14th upwards can beat any other team in Italy comfortably. See Samp - Inter, Cagliari - Juve, Atalanta - Roma, etc... I want to see Fulham or Sunderland give Man Utd a hard time.

Top 4 vs. Top 4, England are the best. The rest of the league is mind numbing this year. Even some hardcore premiership supporting friends (Man Utd and Liverpool fan) claim that the Italian league has become exciting the past couple of years. It's time for some nitwits liek that moron to actually watch Serie A games rather than play them past his bedtime and sleep through them.

Who is that guy to spout some rubbish?

I'll re-adjust my analysis after this week but this is how I see it. The top 4 in England are better than their counterparts in Italy and Spain. No doubt about it. But not by as much as they would want you to believe. Yes Italy didn't score a single goal in 3 matches, but the English scored only 2 goals (one of which was a penalty). 2/3 of the games were in England as well. So really, what are they proud of?

Everyone should wait and see how things turn out after the 2nd leg before we start making judgments of that kind of magnitude.. Even if every Italian team went out but Roma and Juve lose on away goals and Inter lose on penalties, how does it make the Premier league oh so much more superior.

If it so happens that all 3 teams lose their 2nd leg games and score 0-1 goals between them, then it's going to be embarrassing and the Italian teams should be ashamed of themselves.

Arsenal could not be any more like us in almost every way. We only have one absolutely vital player missing though. Hopefully that pays dividends.

our old friend Giuly with a fantastic strike this past weekend. wonder goal! and some wonder misses from this match.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Saw this article referenced in footballitaliano.co.uk.... http://www.skysports.com/story... The most disgusting article right before or CL match...i really hope italy represents well so that idiots like these can put their foot in their damn mouths.

Perhaps we weren't so lucky with all the injuries and DDR suspension, but at least we have Mexes Juan Doni on the back, the most in-form guy Brighi, incredible signing Motta, 2 week rested Totti and our wonderful striker Vucinic( last but not least KA isn't out). Beside Arsenal aren't that full either, no Cesc Toure Adebayor etc. The same Roma has won over Chelsea 3-1, Arsenal couldn't be any harder.

I wonder how everyone get Menez's flu. Did they give him the cooking responsibilities last week?

Seriously, what kind of training do they have in Trigoria? There's no week without injuries. Now I'm really afraid of our chance in champs league.

Goal.com confused Zapata and Felipe in their team of the week hoopla.

Juve are always hell on teams in their own stadium. I'm pretty sure they win 2 or 3-0.

What is it with Serie A CL teams and injuries this year?

Hope Aquilani gives his buddy Chiellini a call and tells him how to beat them 3-1...that'd be a perfect scoreline.

good luck cici

is panucci then second choice for right back?

So who do we have as backups for Riise and Motta at this point?

so cassetti and cici won't see any action anymore this season,what about perrotta?

Good luck CICI see you next season!