CHAMPIONS league focus Arsenal vs. AS Roma

24 Feb 2009 20:45:00 CET
Emirates Stadium—London
Referee: Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark)

Arsenal finished second in group G with 11 points and their only defeat came to surprise group winners Porto. The Gunners went all the way to the final in 2006 where they were defeated at the hands of Barcelona. Since then, the North London club hasn’t been nearly as successful in their quest for European glory.

Injuries and poor form has seen Arsenal slip down the standings and just last weekend they collected their third consecutive goalless draw. The club is currently residing in fifth place with a massive 21 points separating them from the top—which makes it rather safe to say that they’re out of the title race for this time.

Just like their Italian opponents, Arsenal has been plagued with injuries this season. The team is still lacking their most important player in Francesc Fabregas and on top of that Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosicky, Emmanuel Adebayor, Mikael Silvestre Abou Diaby, and Eduardo da Silva are all ruled out of the action. The Gunner’s latest recruit, Andrei Arshavin, is not eligible to play since he has already represented Zenit St. Petersburg in the tournament earlier this season.

Arsenal probable starting XI: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Toure, Clichy, Eboue, Denilson, Song, Nasri, Diaby, van Persie.

Roma managed the impressive feat of finishing as group winners despite their disastrous start to their domestic campaign. At their worst time the capital club went as lowly as 17 in the standings. Things looked different on the European stage and the most impressive victory came at home where they thumped Chelsea by 3-1.

Fantastic form with a few dips scattered throughout the season has still landed the Giallorossi in a respectable sixth place with only two points separating them from a Champions League spot. Just like their opponents, Roma are out of the Scudetto race with 15-point gap up to leading Inter.

Roma heavily relies on enthusiasm and motivation to do well in their performance. Therefore the win against Siena on Saturday will work well as a confidence booster and on top of that the club’s talismanic captain Francesco Totti is finally back from his persistent injury lay off.

Luciano Spalletti comes without the suspended duo of Daniele De Rossi and Simone Perotta and is suffering from a defensive crisis as both Juan and Cicinho limped off with injuries against Siena last Saturday. With want-away Christian Panucci dropped out of the cup, Spalletti will have a real head scratcher.

Roma probable starting XI: Doni, Cicinho, Mexes, Diamoutene (Juan), Riise, Brighi, De Rossi, Taddei, Perrotta, Totti, Baptista.

Poor play and injuries have shattered both clubs’ domestic campaigns and all that is left for them are their respective domestic cup and the Champions League. Expect surprises as the team with most focus and effectiveness in front of the goal will be the ones to snatch up the points.

Player to watch: Francesco Totti’s joke about not being able to play in Tuesday’s clash against Arsenal was ill-advised but the captain quickly set the record straight. Roma has fallen and risen without their most iconic player this season but hopefully his presence on the pitch will help his teammates bring their game up another notch instead of the other way around.