Kick-off: 2000, 19/09/2018
Stadium: Santiago Bernabeu
TV: BT Sport
Real Madrid begin their quest for a fourth straight Champions League triumph by taking on last season’s beaten semi-finalists Roma at the Bernabeu.
The Whites will this time have to do it without key figures Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane to rely on for inspiration.
However, they can get off to a flying start by seeing off poor travellers from Italy, with Evens for the home team to lead at half-time and full-time our first Real Madrid vs Roma prediction.
A Look At Real Madrid’s Betting Odds
Real can take heart from the way other players came to the fore in the closing stages of their 13th outright success in this competition.
None of the seven goals scored over two legs against Bayern Munich and the decider versus Liverpool were netted by former talisman Ronaldo.
Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema both shone up front in those fixtures, while Luka Modric became more and more influential in midfield and Sergio Ramos is still the lynchpin at the back.
Isco, Casemiro and Marco Asensio are all ready, willing and able to accept extra responsibility, while bringing in Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois was an instant upgrade on Keylor Navas.
An encouraging start to the domestic campaign has seen Real bag three wins and a fair 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao.
Real had become a touch lacklustre during the group stages of this competition in recent years, but new boss Julen Lopetegui may help to provide a fresh focus.
Looking at the Real Madrid vs Roma odds, we’re going for a home win to nil at 33/20.
A Look At AS Roma’s Betting Odds
Roma enjoyed some heroic comebacks in the Champions League last term, overturning a first-leg deficit against Shakhtar and then famously upsetting Barcelona 3-0 following a 4-1 loss at Camp Nou.
They also beat Liverpool 4-2 in the Italian capital, but fell just short of reaching the final as a result of a heavy defeat at Anfield.
During the group stage, the Wolves were poor when winning 2-1 at Qarabag, performed with credit in a 3-3 draw at Chelsea but then had their limitations exposed when going down 2-0 at Atletico Madrid.
Struggling on the road is a recurring theme and we like 33/4 for a repeat of that last scoreline to round off our Real Madrid vs Roma betting tips.
Real also prevailed 2-0 in both legs when these teams met in the last 16 three seasons ago.
Steven Nzonzi, Javier Pastore and Justin Kluivert were interesting recruits for Roma this summer, but allowing Alisson, Radja Nainggolan and Kevin Strootman to leave has robbed them of some strong characters.
No wins from their last three Serie A fixtures is an obvious concern, with a loss at AC Milan coming in between home draws with Atalanta and Chievo.
Additional stats
Last result:
Athletic Bilbao 1-1 REAL MADRID – Isco
ROMA 2-2 Chievo – Stephan El Shaarawy, Bryan Cristante
Head-to-head: Real Madrid 2-0 Roma, Roma 0-2 Real Madrid, Real Madrid 1-2 Roma, Roma 2-1 Real Madrid, Roma 0-3 Real Madrid, Real Madrid 4-2 Roma
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