Roma vs Shakhtar 14/03/18

14 March 2018

Shakhtar outplayed Roma in the first leg of the Champions League knockout stage in Kharkiv winning the game by two goals to one. However, the Italian giants are determined to advance to the next stage, and after two consecutive victories over Torino and Napoli, Eusebio Di Francesco’s team have regained their confidence ahead of the return leg. It looks like the Giallorossi have managed to overcome the crisis they’ve had at the beginning of 2018, but their biggest test will take place at the Stadio Olimpico against the Ukrainian champions. The Miners are cruising to a new title in their respective championship, but they also have huge ambitions in Europe, which they’ve already demonstrated during the group stages, eliminating the Serie A leaders Napoli. Roma have failed to keep a clean sheet in five out of their previous six games at home, while Shakhtar netted six times in the last two road matches, and considering the number of chances they’ve created in the first meeting, it would be challenging for the Italians to avoid conceding at least one goal.

Luca Pellegrini and Rick Karsdorp are unavailable for the home side, while the captain, Daniele De Rossi could be fit for the encounter. The visitors will arrive in Italy without Maksym Malyshev and Sergiy Kryvtsov, as both are struggling with injuries. Darijo Srna is suspended for the remainder of the season.