(Getty)
Zinedine Zidane will manage his first game in Champions League today, as Real Madrid face Roma in Knockout Stage action. This is the 19th consecutive season Madrid has reached this round of the tournament, after winning five and drawing one in group play under Rafa Benitez. Roma meanwhile barely snuck into this round, after conceding 16 goals and winning just one match in six in their group. That was just enough to put Roma into the next round behind group leader Barcelona, but Roma is bringing a new mentality to their matchup against Madrid.
Much like Madrid, Roma is also enjoying good form under their second manager of the season. Rudi Garcia was replaced last month by Luciano Spalletti, who managed the club from 2005-2009. Spalletti has led the team to four straight wins heading into today, and has previous experience topping the Spanish giants in this competition. Spalletti’s Roma bested Madrid in the quarterfinals in 2008, when the Italians came away 4-2 aggregate winners.
Roma had both Francesco Totti and Daniele de Rossi for that win, and both should be ready to return today. The Italian veterans are scheduled to start after dealing with calf injuries, unlike Gareth Bale, who will still be unavailable for Madrid. Zidane will get his fullback Marcelo back into the lineup, who had missed time recently with a dislocated shoulder.
Here are the basics:
DATE: February 17, 2016
CHANNEL: Fox Sports 1/BT Sport Streaming
KICKOFF TIME: 2:45 p.m. Eastern
LOCATION: Stadio Olimpico
LIVE STREAM: Click here for all the live stream information
THE LINEUPS
Real Madrid: Navas, Varane, Sergio Ramos, Ronaldo, Kroos, Benzema, James, Marcelo, Carvajal, Modric, Isco
Roma: Szczesny, Florenzi, Manolas, Rudiger, Digne, Pjanic, Vainqueur, Salah, Nainggolan, Sharaawy, Perotti
Find out how to watch this game in Spanish at AhoraMismo.com:
