Roma host Real Madrid in Champions League tonight: what to watch
Web StoryWatch this story in 15 seconds →Key takeaways
- Roma host Real Madrid at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday night.
- Jose Mourinho returns to Rome as Real Madrid manager.
- Kylian Mbappe plays his 100th Champions League game.
Roma host Real Madrid in the Champions League tonight. The game kicks off at 9 PM in Rome. It is one of the big nights of the league phase.
Both teams want a second straight win in Europe. Roma drew their first game. Real Madrid won theirs.
A win tonight would put either side in a strong spot.
The biggest story is on the bench. Jose Mourinho now manages Real Madrid. He used to manage Roma.
He returns to the Stadio Olimpico for the first time as an opponent.
What happened
Roma are back in the Champions League this season. They missed out in recent years. Now they face the most successful club in the history of the event.
Roma started their league phase with a 1-1 draw at Fenerbahce last month. That was a solid away point. At home, they have been strong in Serie A.
They are unbeaten in six league games this season, according to Sports Illustrated.
Real Madrid started with a 2-1 home win over Inter. That win came at the Santiago Bernabeu. In La Liga, Madrid sit six points behind Barcelona.
They beat Villarreal at the weekend. But the win was far from smooth.
Vinicius Junior saw a red card in that Villarreal game. Yan Diomande scored his first goal for the club. Mourinho refused to speak to the press after the game, according to Sports Illustrated.
Roma also had a hard weekend. They drew 0-0 at Como. They played most of that game with ten men.
Top scorer Donyell Malen was sent off. The draw still showed their grit. They held on with a man down.
Now the two teams meet in Rome. The Stadio Olimpico will be full. The fans will make noise.
Roma have won only once at home against Real Madrid in their history, according to Sports Illustrated. Madrid have won eight of the 12 meetings between the clubs.
Why it matters
Mourinho is the heart of this story. He managed Roma from 2021 until the start of 2024. He won the Conference League with Roma in May 2022.
That win came in Tirana. It was Roma's first European trophy in decades.
Rome loved Mourinho. The fans gave him huge support. Now he comes back in charge of Real Madrid.
The home fans are set to give him a warm welcome, according to Sports Illustrated.
But once the game starts, the welcome ends. Roma need points. Real Madrid need points.
Both teams have big goals in this event.
There is also a second big story. Kylian Mbappe plays his 100th Champions League game tonight. That is a huge milestone.
He can also pass Raul to become the fifth-highest scorer in the history of the event, according to Sports Illustrated. Mbappe is Real Madrid's number 9. He is the man Roma must stop.
Roma's coach is Gian Piero Gasperini. He is a long-time Atalanta manager. He led Roma to a third-place finish in Serie A last season.
Now he wants to prove Roma can fight with the best in Europe. A win over Real Madrid would be a huge statement.
The head-to-head record between the two coaches is also worth a note. Gasperini has beaten Mourinho only twice in ten meetings, according to Sports Illustrated. Mourinho has won five of those duels.
Gasperini will want to close that gap.
The teams
Roma have some injury problems. Star goalkeeper Mile Svilar is out until November with a broken finger, according to Sports Illustrated. Bryan Cristante is also out.
Malen can play. His red card at the weekend counts only in Serie A. It does not ban him in Europe.
Roma's likely lineup is a 3-4-2-1 shape. Pierluigi Gollini starts in goal. Gianluca Mancini, Evan Ndicka, and Mario Hermoso form the back three.
The wing-backs are likely to be Nahuel Molina and Wesley. Manu Kone and Marten de Roon play in central midfield. Paulo Dybala and Matias Soule play behind Malen.
Gasperini gave an injury update before the game. He said morale is good. He said the team is ready for this kind of match, according to Chiesa Di Totti.
He also said the Como game took a lot out of the players. Roma played most of it with ten men.
Real Madrid have their own injury list. Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy, Rodrygo, and Raul Asencio are all out, according to Sports Illustrated. Bernardo Silva and Arda Guler are back after bans.
Both may start on the bench.
Real Madrid's confirmed lineup is a 4-2-3-1 shape, according to Managing Madrid. Thibaut Courtois starts in goal. Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate, Antonio Rudiger, and Marc Cucurella form the back four.
Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde play in midfield. Yan Diomande, Jude Bellingham, and Vinicius Junior play behind Mbappe.
Vinicius starts because his domestic ban does not apply in Europe. He will be keen to make an impact. Bellingham and Valverde bring power and goals from midfield.
Mbappe leads the line.
What happens next
The game kicks off at 9 PM Central European Time. That is 3 PM Eastern Time in the United States. It is 8 PM in the United Kingdom.
Francois Letexier of France is the referee.
Fans in the United States can watch on Paramount+ and TUDN, according to Sports Illustrated. Fans in the United Kingdom can watch on TNT Sports 4 and TNT Sports 10, or stream on HBO Max. Fans in Canada can watch on DAZN.
Fans in Mexico can watch on FOX One.
The result will shape both teams' paths in the league phase. A Roma win would be a huge boost. It would show they belong at this level.
A Real Madrid win would keep them near the top of the table.
Roma play with heart and grit. Real Madrid play with star power. Tonight we find out which wins.
The same Champions League night also saw Atletico Madrid beat Manchester United 2-0. Earlier in the league phase, Barcelona beat Galatasaray.
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