#360Fans: Real Madrid vs Roma – UAE Supporters Club preview

Stuart Appleby 14:15 08/03/2016
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  • Real Madrid hold a 2-0 away goal advantage going into the second leg.

    Ahead of their Real Madrid and Roma’s clash at the Santiago Bernabeu, the two clubs’ respective supporters clubs in the Dubai give their verdict on the last 16 clash in the Champions League.

    Taking into consideration the first leg against Roma, as well as the team’s performance in the 7-1 thrashing of Celta Vigo on Saturday, Real Madrid fans should be quite optimistic about making it through to the Champions league quarter-finals.

    However, two Madrid away goals with no reply should not necessarily mean that the tie is over.

    Zinedine Zidane’s men are used to fighting for three titles, La Liga, Copa del Rey and of course the Champions League until the end of each season but at the moment, there is just one to play for.

    The league title will not be coming to the Santiago Bernabeu and Los Blancos were long ago knocked out of the domestic cup – they were handed a disqualification penalty after illegally fielding Denis Cheryshev.

    But the Champions League is still up for grabs, a competition with which Real Madrid have enjoyed a long romance.

    Cristiano Ronaldo, a player for whom Europe’s top prize has proven a prolific playground, has been hogging the headlines. And against Celta Vigo, the Portuguese legend was anonymous in the first half before exploding into life with four goals in the second period.

    It has not been his most impressive season and yet he remains the division’s top scorer, albeit with goals plundered mainly against sides in the lower half of the table.

    He is a divisive figure both inside and outside of the Spanish capital but in the last few weeks he has been recapturing some of his best form, which can only be good news for Madrid if they are to retain any hope of winning their eleventh Champions League crown.

    PREDICTION: Real Madrid 3-1 AS Roma
    LIKELY REAL MADRID XI: (4-2-3-1) Navas; Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Kroos, Isco; Rodriguez, Bale, Ronaldo
    REAL MADRID PLAYER TO WATCH: Cristiano Ronaldo. Who else? His performances in the past few games have been outstanding.
    ROMA PLAYER TO FEAR: Mohamed Salah. Always a threat, he played really well last time out against former club Fiorentina and scored a marvelous goal.
    WHERE TO WATCH: Real Madrid Café in JBR
    Yazan Al Ghazzawi, ROMA CLUB DUBAI
    Roma are riding a phenomenal wave of form going into the second leg of this tie, having won seven in a row in Serie A – the most recent being a 4-1 drubbing of fellow Scudetto challengers Fiorentina.

    Luciano Spalletti seems to have steadied the ship, and found a way to make our attack sparkle by bringing the best out of Mohamed Salah, Miralem Pjanic and newcomers Diego Perotti and Stephen El Shaarawy.

    Roman legend Francesco Totti’s gripes at being left on the bench may have sent shockwaves throughout the footballing world, but they have had absolutely no effect on the team’s performance. If there’s one thing that these past two months have taught us, it’s that when Er Pupone decides to finally hang up his boots, Roma will be absolutely fine.

    A 3-0 victory is needed to take Roma through and it’s not entirely implausible. The Giallorossi have the firepower and consistency to rattle Real – which they did in the first leg at the Olimpico, despite the scoreline.

    Real’s defence is shaky at best and Roma have absolutely nothing to lose on the night. We’ve won here before, we can do it again.

    PREDICTION: Real Madrid 0-3 Roma
    LIKELY ROMA XI: (4-3-1-2) Szczesny, Florenzi, Zukanovic, Manolas, Maicon, Pjanic, Naingollan, Keita, Perrotti, El Shaarawy, Salah
    ROMA PLAYER TO WATCH: Stephen El Shaarawy. The Little Pharaoh has truly found his form in the capital, scoring five goals in six games for the Giallorossi. He has gelled well with Perotti and Salah, whom together form the front line for the highest scoring team in Serie A. El Shaarawy was unlucky not to score in the first leg against Real – I’m sure he’ll be more fortunate this time around.

    REAL MADRID PLAYER TO FEAR: Cristiano Ronaldo. In spite of his recent tantrum, Ronaldo was in excellent form in the 7-1 win against Celta Vigo. He will always be the scariest Real Madrid player – though Alessandro Florenzi kept him in check for large parts of the first leg.

    WHERE TO WATCH: Follow the noise and the colourful Giallorossi banners at Dubliner’s in the Irish Village!

    FACEBOOK: Roma Club Dubai

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