Eusebio Di Francesco gives Radja Nainggolan a “50 per cent chance” of starting against Barcelona and “we want to continue dreaming in the Champions League.”
The first leg of the quarter-final kicks off on Wednesday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT) at Camp Nou.
The biggest question marks in the build-up to the big game surround fitness problems for Nainggolan, while Cengiz Under hasn't made the trip.
“Nainggolan has a 50 per cent chance of playing tomorrow,” said the Coach in his Press conference.
Eusebio Di Francesco gives Radja Nainggolan a “50 per cent chance” of starting against Barcelona and “we want to continue dreaming in the Champions League.”
The first leg of the quarter-final kicks off on Wednesday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT) at Camp Nou.
The biggest question marks in the build-up to the big game surround fitness problems for Nainggolan, while Cengiz Under hasn't made the trip.
“Nainggolan has a 50 per cent chance of playing tomorrow,” said the Coach in his Press conference.
“He’ll have his fitness tests today and tomorrow. Lorenzo Pellegrini is back in the squad for the first time too. I wanted to keep everyone on their toes, as nobody is certain of starting. It doesn’t matter who will play on the right or the left of attack, the important thing is that Roma are playing.
“Stephan El Shaarawy and Gregoire Defrel have different characteristics. Defrel isn’t quite able to hold 90 minutes yet, even if he can be an important option both from the start and off the bench. Stephan can handle the whole match. It’d be a completely different concept of the role and it’s up to me to decide between them.”
The Giallorossi have already surprised the likes of Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk in the tournament so far.
“We are here with great humility to prepare this game against a side that is accustomed to playing at this level. Our dream is to do something extraordinary and we are very proud to be facing the best team in the world. We want to continue dreaming.
“If Roma reached the quarter-finals, it means we’ve done something good. I like the fact we have earned people’s respect. We must ensure that we don’t lose our identity, but be extremely concentrated, because Barcelona can score at any moment. If we keep them away from our penalty area, we’ve got a better chance.
“Barcelona have also conceded only one goal in their Champions League home ties this season. Despite the fact they attack so much, they do concede very few goals. We must have a positive attitude.
“We earned this chance to play in a great competition and we must approach it with optimism and free from pressure. It’d be a sign of weakness if we changed our tactics to counter Barcelona. At most I can use a winger with more defensive rather than attacking skills.
“If Barcelona have a weakness, it could be that they struggle against aggressive sides and that is one of Roma’s strengths. If you manage to escape their early pressure, you can hurt them.
“They accept individual duels all over the pitch and we must try to win as many of those as possible. Alisson is a great goalkeeper, but so is Marc-Andre Ter Stegen. Before they get called into action, the defenders must do their work too.
“I know that Barcelona can force you to defend deep and have exceptional passing skills. When I say we must play without pressure, I mean not second-guessing yourself rather than just hitting and hoping. We’re here because we are competitive.”
This year is the first time in several seasons that there have been two Italian sides in the final eight of the Champions League.
“We are getting back to the level we were. Spain has more talented individuals, whereas we Italians worked more on tactics and the team ethic. Then there are sides like Manchester City and Barcelona who manage to combine the two.”