A victory in the Stadio Olimpico tonight may secure Manchester City's place in the last 16 of the Champions League. Anything less and it seems highly likely that Manuel Pellegrini's men will be sent packing.
If the fortunes of previous English clubs away in Roma are anything to go by, it could well be a tough outing for the Premier League champions.
The Giallorossi have played host to English sides on 14 occasions, eight of which they have won, with three more encounters ending in draws.
Here, Sports Mole has looked back on the three clubs that have managed to return from the Italian capital with a win to show for their efforts - something that City must surely mimic if their interest in Europe's top club competition is to extend into next year.
1. Roma 0-2 Liverpool, February 2001
As far as the draw for the last 16 of the UEFA Cup was concerned, Roma were arguably the last team that Liverpool would have wanted to have been pitted against. After all, managed by Fabio Capello, the Italian side held a six-point advantage over Juventus at the top of the Serie A standings and they were able to boast the likes of Gabriel Batistuta and Francesco Totti within their ranks.
However, with a squad already ravaged by injuries, Capello was keen not to lose either of his striking duo and so he decided to omit both from his starting lineup for the opening leg.
That decision proved to be Roma's undoing as they failed to test the Liverpool rearguard too often. Meanwhile, up the other end, the visiting Merseysiders had Michael Owen available following a month-long absence.
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In front of watching England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, Owen showed that he was back to full fitness with two second-half goals that put the Reds in the tie's driving seat. His first of the night came gift-wrapped courtesy of Alessandro Rinaldi, while his second saw him head in Christian Ziege's cross.
Speaking after the final whistle, Owen said: "It is nice to play in such a great stadium and to come away with two goals. It was a great performance by the whole team."
The Italians won the second leg at Anfield 1-0 thanks to an effort from Gianni Guigou, but it was Liverpool that advanced through to the quarter-finals courtesy of a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Roma: Antonioli; Rinaldi, Samuel, Mangone, Cafu; Emerson, Tommasi, Nakata; Montella, Delvecchio, Candela
Liverpool: Westerveld; Babbel, Henchoz, Hyypia, Carragher, Ziege; Barmby, Hamann, McAllister; Fowler, Owen
2. Roma 1-3 Arsenal, November 2002
When Arsenal made this particular trip to the Italian capital, no Gunner had ever scored a Champions League hat-trick. Just as he did throughout his time in North London, though, Thierry Henry would make a mockery of those sorts of records.
Still with Capello at the helm, Italy Under-21 international Antonio Cassano repaid the faith shown in him by his manager when he fired in a low shot beyond the reach of Rami Shaaban, who was between the posts in the absence of the injured David Seaman, with four minutes played.
Yet, within 90 seconds, Henry had curled a right-footed shot past Roma goalkeeper Francesco Antonioli to restore parity. Then, after the restart, the Frenchman took centre stage.
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With 20 minutes remaining, Henry got the better of Christian Panucci to put the Premier League side 2-1 up. Then, in the closing stages, he saved the best until last when his free kick secured Arsenal's first victory on Italian soil in 22 years.
Roma: Antonioli; Panucci, Zebina, Samuel, Candela, Cafu; Emerson, Lima, Delvecchio; Totti, Cassano
Arsenal: Shaaban; Luzhny, Campbell, Cygan, Cole; Ljungberg, Gilberto, Vieira, Pires; Henry, Wiltord
3. Roma 0-2 Manchester United, April 2008
When Luciano Spalletti took his Roma side to Old Trafford in 2007, they were hammered 7-1. However, ahead of their meeting at the quarter-final stage of the Champions League the following season, the Giallorossi head coach was in defiant mood.
"They are a very, very good side, but it is a long time since they had an important win away from home. They are fantastic at Old Trafford, but not so good away. They never dominate away matches. We want to avenge that 7-1 score," he told reporters.
Indeed, Spalletti was right. Since they had won the competition in 1999, United had claimed victories in away knockout matches just twice. Nevertheless, this was a maturing United side that would go on to all but secure their spot in the last four with two unanswered away goals.
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Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with a towering header during the first half, before Wayne Rooney bundled in a second goal after the restart.
A triumphant Sir Alex Ferguson said during his post-match interview: "We can't take anything for granted, but we definitely feel like we can reach the semi-finals. It was a marvellous result. We showed discipline and composure on the ball."
A 70th-minute strike from Carlos Tevez in the return leg eased United into the semi-finals.
Roma: Doni; Cassetti, Mexes, Panucci, Tonetto; De Rossi, Aquilani, Taddei ,Pizarro, Mancini; Vucinic
Man United: Van der Sar; Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Carrick, Scholes, Anderson, Ronaldo, Park; Rooney
Liam Apicella
