Champions League: Liverpool will fight for their dreams against Roma

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has called on his side to be brave against Roma and book their place in the Champions League final against Real Madrid.

Klopp’s team head to the Stadio Olimpico tonight for the second leg of their semi-final against Roma with a 5-2 advantage from the first leg but two late goals at Anfield has kept the Italians in the tie.

Roma also pulled off a memorable comeback to beat Barcelona in the last eight, so the Italian side and their fans will be confident that more miracles can happen this evening.

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Klopp, though, has urged his Liverpool players to step up and be “ready”. The German told Uefa.com: “We are here to fight for our dreams. A lot of people might think Roma have only to win 3-0, but that’s quite a result.

“We’ll be there as well - we won’t stay in the dressing room! This is what you want, to play with big stakes and for big things.

“The story of Liverpool in Rome is great, but nobody thinks it helps a lot that our grandfathers won here. It’s just a game in a wonderful stadium, in a wonderful city, against a very strong side. If you really want to win, you have to accept that you could lose. You’ve got to be really brave.”

After losing 4-1 to Barcelona in the quarter-final first leg, Roma stormed back to reach the last four with a 3-0 victory against Lionel Messi and Co in the Italian capital.

Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco said his team must once again “achieve something special” to pull off another huge Champions League comeback.

Speaking in the pre-match press conference Di Francesco said: “In terms of motivating the players, it’s exactly the same [as it was against Barcelona]. We want to pull this comeback off, to give everything we have and achieve something special.

“We need a carbon copy of the physical and mental display we put in against Barcelona. Against Liverpool, we’ll need technical quality, physicality, the right attitude and to score as soon as we can, so our supporters can give us that extra push.”

AS Roma vs. Liverpool (agg 2-5)

• When: tonight
• Where: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
• Kick-off time: 7.45pm UK
• TV channel: live on BT Sport 2
• Aggregate score after the first leg: 2-5

Roma team news

Rick Karsdorp (knee), midfielder Kevin Strootman (ribs) and forwards Gregoire Defrel and Diego Perotti (ankle) are expected to miss the clash tonight.

Possible Roma line-up (according to Uefa.com)

Roma (4-3-3): Alisson; Florenzi, Manolas, Fazio, Kolarov; Nainggolan, De Rossi, Pellegrini; Schick, Dzeko, El Shaarawy

Liverpool team news

The Reds have confirmed that forward Sadio Mane is set to return. Jordan Henderson (ankle), Trent Alexander-Arnold (dead leg) and Alberto Moreno (knock) are also expected to be fit after injury. However, Joe Gomez is ruled out after picking up a knock against Stoke at the weekend. Gomez joins Emre Can (back), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (knee) and Joel Matip (thigh) on the sidelines.

Possible Liverpool line-up (according to Uefa.com)

Liverpool (4-3-3): Karius; Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson; Wijnaldum, Henderson, Milner; Salah, Firmino, Mane

2018 Uefa Champions League guide

Semi-final results

First-leg results

• Liverpool 5 Roma 2
• Bayern Munich 1 Real Madrid 2

Second-leg results

• Real Madrid 2 Bayern Munich 2 (4-3 on aggregate)

When and where is the 2018 Champions League final?

It’s on Saturday 26 May at the NSC Olimpiyskyi stadium in Kiev, Ukraine. Real Madrid will face Roma or Liverpool.

Who will be the ‘home’ side in the final?

It was decided at the semi-final draw that Bayern or Real would be the home side for the 26 May final. So after their semi-final victory Real will be the home side at the final.

Champions League betting odds

According to Oddschecker, here are the latest best prices as of 2 May:

• Real Madrid: 8/11
• Liverpool: 7/5
• Roma: 35/1