Champions League: Liverpool will fight for their dreams against Roma

Jurgen Klopp’s side look to seal their
place in the Champions League final

One-Minute Read

Klopp’s team head to the Stadio Olimpico tonight for the second
leg of their semi-final against Roma. Liverpool have a 5-2
advantage from the first leg but two late goals at Anfield has kept
the Italians in the tie.

Also, after Roma pulled off a memorable comeback to beat
Barcelona in the last eight, the Italian side and their fans will
be confident that more miracles can happen this evening.

Klopp though has urged his Liverpool players to step up and be
“ready”. The German told Uefa.com: “We are here to fight for our dreams.
A lot of people might think Roma have only to win 3-0, but that’s
quite a result. 

“We’ll be there as well – we won’t stay in the dressing
room! This is what you want, to play with big stakes and for big
things.

“The story of Liverpool in Rome is great, but nobody
thinks it helps a lot that our grandfathers won here. It’s just a
game in a wonderful stadium, in a wonderful city, against a very
strong side. If you really want to win, you have to accept that you
could lose. You’ve got to be really brave.”

After losing 4-1 to Barcelona in the quarter-final first
leg Roma stormed back to reach the last four with a 3-0 victory
against Lionel Messi and Co in the Italian capital.

Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco said his team must once again
“achieve something special” to pull off another huge Champions
League comeback.

Speaking in the pre-match press conference Di Francesco said: “In terms of motivating the
players, it’s exactly the same [as it was against Barcelona]. We
want to pull this comeback off, to give everything we have and
achieve something special. 

“We need a carbon copy of the physical and mental display
we put in against Barcelona. Against Liverpool, we’ll need
technical quality, physicality, the right attitude and to score as
soon as we can, so our supporters can give us that extra
push.”

AS Roma vs. Liverpool (agg 2-5)

• When: tonight 
• Where: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
• Kick-off time: 7.45pm UK 
• TV channel: live on BT
  Sport 2 
• Aggregate score after the first leg: 2-5

Roma team news

Rick Karsdorp (knee), midfielder Kevin Strootman (ribs)
and forwards Gregoire Defrel and Diego Perotti (ankle) are expected
to miss the clash tonight.

Possible Roma line-up (according to Uefa.com)

Roma (4-3-3): Alisson; Florenzi, Manolas, Fazio, Kolarov;
Nainggolan, De Rossi, Pellegrini; Schick, Dzeko, El
Shaarawy

Liverpool team news

The Reds have confirmed that forward Sadio Mane is
set to return. Jordan Henderson (ankle), Trent Alexander-Arnold
(dead leg) and Alberto Morena (knock) are also expected to be fit
after injury. However, Joe Gomez is ruled out after picking up a
knock against Stoke at the weekend. Gomez joins Emre Can (back),
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (knee) and Joel Matip (thigh) on the
sidelines.

Possible Liverpool line-up (according to Uefa.com)

Liverpool (4-3-3): Karius; Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Van
Dijk, Robertson; Wijnaldum, Henderson, Milner; Salah, Firmino,
Mane

2018 Uefa Champions League guide 

Semi-final results

First-leg results

• Liverpool 5 Roma 2 
• Bayern Munich 1 Real Madrid 2

Second-leg results

• Real Madrid 2 Bayern Munich 2 (4-3 on aggregate)

When and where is the 2018 Champions League final?

It’s on Saturday 26 May at the NSC Olimpiyskyi stadium in
Kiev, Ukraine. Real Madrid will face Roma or Liverpool. 

Who will be the ‘home’ side in the final?

It was decided at the semi-final draw that Bayern or Real would
be the home side for the 26 May final. So after their semi-final
victory Real will be the home side at the final.

Champions League betting odds

According
to Oddschecker, here are the latest best prices as
of 2 May:

• Real Madrid: 8/11
• Liverpool: 7/5
• Roma: 35/1