Barcelona will be looking to secure their safe passage through to the knockout rounds of the Champions League on Tuesday evening in their penultimate group game against Roma.
The holders, who are five points clear at the top of Group E, will qualify for the last 16 with a draw against the Italian opponents at Camp Nou.
Barcelona
© Getty Images
The Catalan giants have been in imperious form in recent weeks, winning their last four matches on the bounce, scoring 12 and conceding none in that time.
Luis Enrique's side were at their best on Saturday as they dismantled bitter rivals Real Madrid 4-0 at Santiago Bernabeu in the first El Clasico of the season, with a double from Luis Suarez doing the damage, along with goals from Neymar and Andres Iniesta.
Enrique, though, has insisted that there is still plenty of room for improvement, which could be a fairly ominous statement for their rivals given their performances of late.
Tuesday evening's tie pits the Spanish coach against former club Roma, whom he managed from 2011 to 2013.
Despite missing Lionel Messi through injury for much of this season, Barca have had no problems in finding the back of the net, while also being resolute at the back, having kept clean sheets in each of their last three games.
Messi could start against Roma, having come on as a substitute against Real, although Enrique will surely be tempted to stick with the side that won so convincingly on the weekend, particularly with Barca's place in the next round all but assured.
Recent form: LWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWDWWW
Roma
© Getty Images
With two games remaining, Roma are only in the top half of Group E by a single point from Bayer Leverkusen, with bottom side BATE Borisov, who they face on the final matchday, two points behind.
The Giallorossi have not been at their best in the competition so far, with a surprise defeat at BATE leaving them in danger of not making it out of the group.
They earned a credible draw with Barcelona in the return fixture on matchday one and secured a vital win over Bayer Leverkusen last time out, but defeat to Barca here could leave their qualification hopes in the balance.
Rudi Garcia's side, who were runners-up to Juventus in Serie A last season, lost ground in the title race on Saturday as they were held to a dramatic 2-2 draw at Bologna. Penalties from Miralem Pjanic and Edin Dzeko had put Roma ahead, but another penalty from Mattia Destro three minutes from the end saw the teams share the spoils.
Given the tight nature of the group, another point against Enrique's men would not be a bad result, although it would probably leave them needing to beat BATE in their final match to go through.
Recent form: WWWLWD
Recent form (all competitions): WWLWWD
Team News
© Getty Images
Enrique has not confirmed whether Messi will start, after the Argentine forward returned from two months out with a knee injury off the bench against Real.
Meanwhile, Rafinha remains sidelined with an ACL injury, while Javier Mascherano will also miss out after suffering a thigh injury at the Bernabeu.
Roma will be without three of their most potent attackers, as Gervinho, Mohamed Salah and Francesco Totti all nurse injuries.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Alves, Pique, Bartra, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Roberto; Iniesta, Suarez, Neymar
Roma possible starting lineup:
Szczesny, Maicon, Manolas, Rudiger, Digne; Keita, Nainggolan, Pjanic; Florenzi, Dzeko, Iturbe
Head To Head
The teams drew 1-1 when they met at the Olympic Stadium on matchday one. Suarez gave the visitors the lead on 21 minutes, but an equaliser from Alessandro Florenzi 10 minutes later ensured that both teams came away with a point.
Prior to this season, they last met in the Champions League group stages in 2002, when they drew 1-1 in Barcelona, before Roma cruised to a 3-0 win back in Italy, where Enrique was part of the losing side.
We say: Barcelona 2-0 Roma
Given Barcelona's form of late, it's hard to look beyond them winning this one. They look strong at the back and clinical in attack and, with Roma inconsistent at the moment, the Spanish side should have enough to come out on top.
No Data Analysis info
