Roma face CSKA Moscow at the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday, Oct. 23. Here’s all the info you need to watch.
Roma’s preparation for this game couldn’t have been much worse, as they lost 0-2 at home on Saturday to a SPAL side that had only scored six goals all season. Not for the first time in recent months, they left the field to loud boos from the crowd. Daniele De Rossi, Patrik Schick and Aleksandar Kolarov all missed that game due to injury but are expected to be fit to face CSKA. Roma’s biggest problem this season has been their inability to control games, which makes their matches great for neutrals but often agonizing for their own fans. We’re almost a quarter of the way through the campaign, and Roma have still only put in convincing performances against sub-par opposition: in the Champions League win over Plzen, who are considered near certainties to finish bottom of this group, and in Serie A against Frosinone, who are deemed near certainties to be relegated.
CSKA sit top of the group going into this round of CL games, although their victory over Real Madrid in the last match looks a little less impressive in light of the Spanish giants’ subsequent losses to Alaves and Levante. This is the sixth consecutive CL group stage appearance for Russia’s oldest club, but they haven’t made it any further since 2012. Their best performance to date came back in 2009-10 when they reached the quarter-finals, eventually losing to Inter Milan. Alan Dzagoev, once the golden boy of Russian soccer, is now in his tenth year at the club, while their star man in this campaign has been Croatian forward Nikola Vlasic. He set up CSKA’s first goal against Viktoria Plzen and converted an injury-time penalty to earn his side a point, before scoring the winner against Real Madrid on match-day two. Goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev, who captained Russia at this summer’s World Cup, is suspended after being sent off in the last game.
The Champions League match between Roma and CSKA Moscow will be broadcast live on Bleacher Report. Live streaming is available on B/R Live, which you can access with your cable or satellite subscriptions, either online or through the Bleacher Report app.
Date: Tuesday, Oct. 23
Start time: 3 p.m. ET
Location: Rome, Italy
Stadium: Stadio Olimpico
TV Info: Bleacher Report
Live Stream: B/R Live | Fubo.TV. Sign up for a free seven-day trial here
Roma manager Eusebio Di Francesco’s job is likely to be under threat should his side lose this game, which is a shame given that they produced so much enjoyment in last season’s competition.