Preview: Bernabeu stage offers Giallorossi chance to kick-start season

Having endured a mixed start to the new campaign, which has seen the side win one, lose one and draw two of their opening four Serie A games, Eusebio Di Francesco will be desperate for his men to produce a special performance away at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Indeed, in the wake of the Giallorossi's 2-2 draw with Chievo Verona at the weekend, where they failed to capitalise on a 2-0 half-time lead, Roma will be fully motivated to make sure they put in a strong showing to kick start their crusade.

Still trying to work out the best way to line up the many new pieces at his disposal, Di Francesco knows how important this match is for his side, who've looked shaky at the back at times but have illustrated how effective they can be going forward.

"We must hold onto our mentality. We need to improve when defending because the team is creating a lot and there’s quality to our build-up play," he explained after the weekend’s result.

°But if you play like that, you have to score four or five goals to ensure you don’t end up under pressure. We didn’t do that today and handed Chievo a lifeline.

"We can’t do any of that in Madrid. We need to defend well as a team first and foremost, then we can work on producing some excellent attacking play."

Coming off a draw of their own from their weekend fixture against Athletic Club, this will add some additional spice to the hotly'anticipated clash, for both teams will be eager to return to the winner's list. Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui will unquestionably be feeling the pressure ahead of the game too ' as his predecessor, Zinedine Zidane, remarkably won the last three Champions League titles before leaving.

An immediate defeat in the competition for Lopetegui would not be the ideal follow'up.

Being the second game in a stretch that sees Madrid play six games in 18 days, Lopetegui will surely have one eye on his players' fitness too, a factor that could play into Roma's hands. However, if the away side are to give Los Merengues a run for their money, they'll need to limit the contributions of the likes of Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Isco.

A task that's definitely easier said than done, with Di Francesco picking out Asensio as a particular danger.

Loving to press, play a high line and instruct his players to impose themselves on their opposition, it'll be expected Di Francesco will attempt to make life as uncomfortable as possible for his star-studded adversaries. Upon analysing the relentless and successful man oriented pressing Eduardo Berizzo's Athletic implemented against Madrid, which has similarities with Di Francesco's, and this offers a solid blueprint of how to effectively unsettle their foes.

Meanwhile, historically speaking, the ledger is in Madrid's favour, with Los Merengues winning six of their previous 10 battles and Roma triumphing on three occasions (one draw too). Despite losing 4-0 on aggregate the last time the two played in this competition in 2016, the scoreline was rather misleading, as Luciano Spalletti's troops spurned plenty of brilliant opportunities over the two legs of their last-16 loss.

With all this in mind, the stage is set for Wednesday night's match to be a captivating duel full of excitement, intensity and entertainment. An uplifting display from Roma here would do them the world of good in their quest to gain some much-needed traction as the season develops.