Good evening everyone! It's the second matchday of the Champions League group stages, but there are already vital points to play for. With Bayern Munich set to go top of Group E, the pressure is on Manchester City and Roma at the Etihad.

It is starting to look increasingly likely that City will need a win if they are to reach the last 16. They were beaten 1-0 by Bayern in their opening match, thanks to a last minute goal from Jerome Boateng, and surely cannot afford to drop any more points.

See, told you the weather isn't too bad in Manchester, @OfficialASRoma! Great evening for #cityvroma! pic.twitter.com/1rR2sn0Fwh

— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) September 30, 2014

Their opponents this evening are a Roma side who hit the ground running on their return to European competition. They produced a great display of attacking football in a 5-1 victory over CSKA that will have certainly sent out a message of intent to their Group E rivals.

In this evening's early kick off the final whistle has just blown in Russia. Bayern Munich have claimed all three points in a 1-0 win over CSKA Moscow. That result means that the German champions top the group with six points and will already be confident of making the knockout stages.

MAN CITY XI: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy, Navas, Fernandinho, Toure, Silva, Aguero, Dzeko

ROMA XI: Skorupski, Maicon, Manolas, Yanga-Mbiwa, Cole, Pjanic, Keita, Nainggolan, Florenzi, Totti, Gervinho

MAN CITY SUBS: Caballero, Sagna, Kolarov, Milner, Lampard, Jovetic, Mangala

ROMA SUBS: Iturbe, Lajic, Curci, Destro, Holebas, Paredes, Torosidis

The big news as far as Manchester City are concerned, is the return of Joe Hart in goal. The England number one has missed out on his side's last two matches, but starts in place of Willy Caballero. In another defensive change, Martin Demichelis comes in for Eliaquim Mangala, who endured a torrid time at the weekend in Hull.

Jesus Navas is also back in the starting lineup, after featuring from the bench at the KC Stadium. He joins a strong attack that includes Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko leading the line, with further support coming from Yaya Toure and David Silva.

Meanwhile, Roma are forced into a making a goalkeeping alteration of their own. Morgan De Sanctis suffered a groin strain in his side's match against Hellas Verona and misses out. He is replaced by Polish stopper Lukasz Skorupski, who has played just three games for the club. Maicon starts against his former club, while ex-England international Ashley Cole also features.

Gervinho and Alessandro Florenzi both return to the starting lineup to form a three-man attack with captain Francesco Totti. There is no Daniele De Rossi in the midfield, so Seydou Keita keeps his place, while Juan Iturbe is named on the bench after recovering from his thigh injury.

Despite their struggles in Europe, it hasn't been the worst start to the season by any means for City, but their 4-2 victory against Hull at the weekend was their first win in the league in four matches. At this early stage in the campaign they sit third in the table and trail leaders Chelsea by five points.

City may have had a shaky start to the season, but they have still shown plenty of fighting spirit. In their match against Arsenal two weeks ago, a late equaliser from Martin Demichelis ensured that they left the Emirates with a 2-2 draw. That same determination was needed last weekend as they came from behind to grab a 1-1 draw against Chelsea thanks to Frank Lampard's late goal.

For all their domestic success, it is clear that the owners of the club want to bring a European trophy to the club. However, they haven't enjoyed the best of times in this tournament over the past two seasons and have managed to reach the knockout stages just once.

After failing to reach the knockout stages in their first two campaigns, they made it through to the last 16 last season, finishing second behind Bayern. They were drawn against Barcelona in the knockout stages and suffered a 2-0 defeat at home, before losing 2-1 in Spain.

If City's start to the season hasn't been great, then the complete opposite can be said about Roma. The Giallorossi have won all five of their league matches and sit level with Juventus at the top of the Serie A table. They actually face Juve this weekend in Turin and will want to prepare for that with a positive result tonight.

They have been able to continue their domestic form in Europe, as shown by their 5-1 hammering of CSKA. It took them just six minutes to break the deadlock and they had racked up a four-goal lead by half time. Of course tonight's opponents will offer much more of a threat, but that takes nothing away from their impressive display.

Warm up: Totti leads out the AS Roma side #CityvRoma #UCL @ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/3iip2nReaB — AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) September 30, 2014

One of the key players from that evening was Juan Iturbe, who scored and set up two goals before going off injured in under 25 minutes. He joined the club in the summer after a fantastic season at Hellas Verona last year and is a player that the City defence will have to keep a close eye on if he comes off the bench.

Gervinho is another player in the Roma attack that could cause problems. In his two seasons at Arsenal he failed to impress and is largely remembered for missing an open goal in a League Cup tie against Bradford. However, he has since rediscovered his best form under former Lille manager Rudi Garcia and has scored three goals so far this season.

This is actually the first time that City and Roma have played each other. A good sign for the hosts is that the Italians have won just one of their 14 games in England, which came against Liverpool in 2001. Roma have lost on all of their previous visits to Manchester and in 2007 they were memorably beaten 7-1 by City's rivals United.

7 - Man City have won just one of their last 7 European meetings with Italian sides (L4 D2). Confidence. #ManCityRoma — OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) September 30, 2014

PREDICTION: This is a vital match for both teams and one that City especially cannot afford to lose. If they were to slip six points behind Roma and Bayern in the group then their chances of reaching the knockout stages would be slim. Pellegrini's men will find it tough to break down a strong Roma defence and there is no doubt that the Italians have enough quality in attack to cause problems, so I am going to go for a 1-1 draw.

KICKOFF! We are underway at the Etihad!

PENALTY TO MANCHESTER CITY! Drama early on here as the home side are awarded a penalty. Silva chips a wonderful ball into the path of Aguero, who is tugged back by Maicon and the referee awards the spot kick. The Brazilian is then shown a yellow card, but he is lucky to still be on the pitch.

Aguero steps up and slots the penalty cooly into the bottom corner. It is the early goal that City will have wanted and Pellegrini will be delighted with how his team have started.

OFF THE BAR! It's almost an immediate equaliser for the visitors as Maicon latches onto Totti's brilliant pass, before smashing an effort from a tight angle against the bar. What an eventful opening it has been for the full back!

Despite taking the lead early on, it has been the visitors who have seen more of the ball. They are finding a particular amount of joy on the right hand side, with Maicon and Gervinho looking to exploit the space in behind Clichy.

City have started to see more of the possession, but they are not posing too much of a threat on the Roma goal at the moment. They seem content to play it around their midfielders, with Toure keen to impose himself on this match after recent criticism.

Gervinho almost gets in behind the City defence, as he latches onto a loose ball just outside the box before charging goalwards. However, his touch is slightly heavy and Hart comes out to claim the ball before he can get a shot away.

Dzeko has City's second effort on goal as a corner falls kindly to him just outside the box. He has space to shoot, but takes an extra touch and only manages to scuff his low effort wide of the target.

Roma are back on level terms and it's a moment of class from their captain. Totti breaks through the City defence after latching onto Nainggolan's through ball, before clipping a wonderful effort into the far corner past Hart. That goal means that he is now the oldest player to score in Champions League history.

That goal has certainly given Roma a boost of confidence and you wouldn't put it past them adding a quick second. Totti is pulling all the strings and he is unlucky to see another delightful pass over the defence just bounce slightly out of the reach of Gervinho.

It's all Roma at the moment and Pjanic combines well with Florenzi in the midfield, before attempting to run onto his through ball. The pass is slightly too long as Hart comes out to claim, but the visitors look dangerous every time they come forward.

There is so much space for Roma when they break forward and this time it's Gervinho who leads the charge. He gets into the City half, before finding Nainggolan out wide on the right. The midfielder then tries to pick out Cole, who had made a run to the far post, but his cross is just in front of the former Chelsea full back, who had strayed into an offside position anyway.

City are just starting to put pressure on the Roma defence and they string a number of fine passes together with Dzeko being picked out on the edge of the box. His shot is blocked and almost falls for Aguero, but Manolas manages to scramble the ball away before the Argentine has a chance to shoot.

The hosts think that they should have their second penalty of the evening when Navas sees his low cross hit the outstretched arm of Manolas. The referee was unmoved by their appeals and instead awards a corner. Roma can consider themselves very fortunate to get away with that one.

Roma have certainly given City plenty of problems this half and Florenzi is just inches away latching onto yet another Totti ball over the top. The captain has been a real inspiration for his team this evening and is it easy to forget he is 38 now.

CHANCE! Gervinho has been one of his side's best players this evening and he does well to latch onto a ball out wide on the right before charging towards goal. He drives into the box and gets his shot away from a tight angle, but Hart does well to beat his powerful effort behind for a corner.

No stoppage time is needed and the referee brings the first half to a close, with City and Roma going into the break on level terms. Aguero's early goal was cancelled out by a classy finish from Totti, with the visitors looking the better team so far.

A quick look at the statistics shows that City have seen much more of the ball than their opponents, with 57% of the possession. They have also had more shots on goal, but only one of their six attempts has found the target. Roma have had four attempts, with three finding the target and one hitting the bar.

The standout player of the first 45 minutes has been Roma's inspirational captain Francesco Totti. His goal has seen him overtake Ryan Giggs as the oldest scorer in the Champions League. He has looked threatening every time he has received the ball and has led by example tonight.

© Getty Images

City would have been delighted at their start this evening, but they haven't been able to build on Aguero's early goal. They may have had plenty of the ball, but they haven't used it well enough in attacking positions. Looking at their bench, Stevan Jovetic is available again after injury and Frank Lampard would certainly love to add to his four goals for the club.

Having just spoken about substitutions, we have learned that James Milner is coming on for Jesus Navas. Kick off for the second half is just moments away.

Roma take the kick off and get the match back underway!

City will have an early chance to get a shot on goal as Manolas brings down Aguero around 25 yards out from goal, with Milner set to take the resulting free kick.

It's a complete waste of a free kick from the hosts, as Milner lays the ball off to Toure, who takes a poor touch and is closed down quickly. He tries to slide the ball into the box for Silva, but it is easy for the Roma defence to clear.

CHANCE! Totti was the player of the first half and almost starts the second with a bang. He picks up the ball in space outside the box and lets loose with a powerful drive aiming for the far corner, but it swings just wide of Hart's goal.

SAVE! It's another chance for Roma as Pjanic charges through the midfield before finding Totti. The Captain then slides the ball out wide for Florenzi, whose delivery into the box is just behind Pjanic. However, the ball ends up deflecting back to the Bosnian, who sees his close-range effort well blocked by Hart.

CHANCE! All of the attempts on goal are coming from Roma and it's Pjanic again who threatens. This time he is picked out in space by Gervinho, before firing a powerful strike narrowly wide of the post.

YELLOW CARD! Zabaleta is the first City player to pick up a booking this evening for a late challenge from behind on Totti.

SUBSTITUTION: The hosts make their second change of the evening, with Lampard coming on for Dzeko.

Good play from Milner who picks up the ball on the left before driving towards goal. He gets into the box before firing a low ball across the middle, but it is just too far ahead of Aguero and heads behind for a goal kick.

City get in behind as Fernandinho links up brilliantly with Toure and Lampard before bursting into the box. It looks as if he is about to get a shot away, before he is stopped by a latch ditch tackle from Yanga-Mbiwa.

The introduction of Lampard has certainly had a positive effect on the hosts. They are seeing a lot more of the ball in forward positions and look to have more purpose to their attack. Milner has also looked lively on the left since his arrival at half time.

Pjanic has had a few efforts on goal this half, but his latest strike is not one that will be remembered fondly as he lashes a strike high and wide of the target from just outside the box.

CHANCE! Lampard has been among the goals recently and the midfielder tries his luck with a powerful low effort from range that Skorupski manages to push behind. That shot looked to have taken a slight deflection, making it a very decent save from the stand-in keeper.

SUBSTITUTION: Totti's record-breaking night has come to an end, with Iturbe coming on in his place.

There is still plenty of threat left in this Roma side even without Totti. City will know about the danger that Maicon poses down the right and the Brazilian whips in a brilliant low ball across the box that somehow evades his teammates, before it is cleared away.

It's City's turn to fashion a chance as Silva plays a great pass through to Clichy down the left. The left back then delivers a teasing low ball into the middle that the keeper comes out to clear away before it can reach Aguero.

Silva is starting to exert much more influence on this match as we enter the final stages and the Spaniard does well to latch onto a loose ball just outside the box, before setting his sights and drilling an effort past the post.

YELLOW CARD! Nainggolan is the second Roma player to be shown a card this evening for kicking the ball away.

SUBSTITUTION: It's a second change for the visitors, as Holebas comes on to replace Florenzi.

SUBSTITUTION: City make a change of their own, with Aguero making way for Jovetic.

It is very much end to end at the moment with both teams pushing for a winner. We haven't seen too many clear-cut chances on goal in the past few minutes, with a long-range shot from Lampard that sailed wide the closest City have come to finding a winner.

SUBSTITUTION: It's bad news for Roma as Maicon limps off the pitch, with Torosidis replacing him for the final minutes of the game.

We are going to have five minutes of stoppage time.

Silva has played some delightful passes this half and he almost picks out Jovetic with a flighted ball over the top, but it is just out of the reach of the Montenegrin and goes harmlessly through to the keeper.

CHANCE! Big moment for City, as after some flowing football Zabaleta is played in down the right. He looks up and delivers a low ball for Silva at the near post, but the Spaniard ends up directing his shot wide of the post.

City have seen all of the ball in stoppage time and they work a good shooting chance for Jovetic who is picked out in space on the edge of the box. However, the forward ends up firing his strike over the bar and it looks as if that is going to be their last chance of the evening.

It's all over at the Etihad, where it has ended level. City will be frustrated that they weren't able to claim the three points, but Roma more than deserved to take something from tonight's match. Rudi Garcia's side have shown yet again that they are a force to be reckoned with.

That result means that City are third in Group E after picking up their first point in this year's Champions League. Roma are in second with four points, with Bayern leading the way on six after winning both of their opening matches.

Well, that's all we've got time for here, after an eventful night of Champions League action. We will have analysis and player ratings to come from each game that took place this evening so make sure you stick around for that. Until next time, goodbye!