LECCE

League position: 5th in Serie B
Head coach: Marco Baroni
Top-scorer: Massimo Coda (10)

HOW THEY GOT HERE

Jose Mourinho's side have yet to feature in this year's Coppa Italia, a result of their European participation in this season's inaugural Europa Conference League, where safe passage was secured to the knockouts in Europe's new third tier tournament.

Lecce, meanwhile, have successfully negotiated two rounds of the Italian cup to set up their trip to the capital.

Despite going behind after just seven minutes of their first round tie with Parma, Lecce came roaring back to put the Gialloblu away 3-1 on their own turf thanks to Coda’s brace that sandwiched Alessandro Tuia’s strike.

Italy’s other Giallorossi then saw to Spezia in the second round, with Marcin Listkowski and Arturo Calabresi scoring either side of the break to earn a 2-0 victory.

Possible Lecce line-up

(4-3-3)

Gabriel; Calabresi, Dermaku, Lucioni, Barecca; Gargiulo, Hjulmand, Majer; Strefezza, Coda, Di Mariano

DANGER MAN
Massimo Coda

Lecce’s nomadic top-scorer has plied much of his trade in Italy’s second division, bar 42 top-flight appearances from brief spells at Parma and Benevento.

The 6’0” striker has rolled back the years in his 18 months at the Ettore Giardiniero, scoring 32 times and providing 13 assists in 57 appearances for the club.

This season, the 33-year-old has 10 goals in all competitions - eight in the league, two in the cup - but has started just one of six league games since hitting a hat-trick against former club Parma on Matchday 12.

With injury niggles behind him, Coda should return to the starting XI this week and all of his experience will come in handy against Mourinho’s big boys at the Olimpico, which will give the man from Campania the perfect opportunity to remind everyone of his goalscoring prowess.

CUP HISTORY

While Lecce have never won the Coppa Italia, Roma have lifted the Italian cup on nine occasions, which makes them the second most successful club in the competition's history behind only 14-time champions Juventus.

The Giallorossi's most recent cup successes came courtesy of back-to-back wins in 2006-07 and 2007-08 under Luciano Spalletti.

Meanwhile, Lecce have never gone beyond the round of 16 and would make new club history if they beat Roma.

The first ever meeting between these two sides actually came in the cup, way back in 1982-83 - the same year that Roma won their second Scudetto - where they shared a 0-0 draw in the group stage, but they have not met in the cup since and the men from the capital win the overall record in this fixture (P33, W22, D9, L2).

PLAYER STATS

• Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Lorenzo Pellegrini are both on the brink of Roma centuries. Mkhitaryan is one appearance away from his 100th for the Giallorossi, while Pellegrini is currently standing on 99 wins for the club.
  
• Tammy Abraham has 14 goals to his name in all competitions this season. Of all the players in Serie A, only Dusan Vlahovic and Ciro Immobile (both 20) have scored more.
  
• Roger Ibanez (2,406) has played more minutes than any other Giallorossi outfield player this term.
  
• Coda's two cup goals for Lecce place him just six behind the club's record scoring player in the Coppa Italia - Pedro Pasculli.
  
• In comparison, Roma's Coppa Italia top-scorer is Roberto Pruzzo. The four-time Italian cup winner - and one-time Serie A champion - scored 20 goals in 48 appearances in the competition for the Giallorossi.

WHAT THEY SAID

“I'm pleased, it's a prize for the city and the fans, as well as for clubs and kids. For us it will be a difficult test and we take it as a reward. In these games where we have everything to lose, we have the opportunity to compete with some incredible players and that can only be positive.”

- Lecce coach Baroni after progressing to face Roma