Bayern Munich vs AS Roma preview - Robben expects to face tougher Roma

Posted Wednesday, November 05, 2014 by PA

Bayern Munich forward Arjen Robben has urged the club's fans not to expect a repeat of the 7-1 thumping of Roma when the Italians visit the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.

The Bundesliga leaders fired a warning to their Champions League rivals with a stunning demolition of Rudi Garcia's men at the Stadio Olimpico two weeks ago.

Robben himself started the rout, scoring two of five first-half goals, as the Germans humiliated their hosts.

That win put Bayern in total charge of Group E and a draw on Wednesday would seal their place in the knockout stage, but Roma are still well-placed to go through as well.

"On Wednesday it will be a very different game," Robben said. "In Rome that was a super night for us. Something like that you only get once every few years.

"Therefore I don't expect it to happen again. It will be hard, we have to give a top performance again if we want to win."

Roma have stuttered in Serie A since their first meeting with Bayern, recording a win, a loss and a draw, and they are unlikely to take much heart from the news that Franck Ribery could start for the hosts.

The Frenchman came off the bench and scored in the 7-1 win and also impressed as a substitute in the weekend victory over Borussia Dortmund.

"Against Dortmund he was the difference," Guardiola said.

The Bayern boss, whose side top the Bundesliga by four points, also predicted the return clash with Roma would be much tougher than the first.

"Their players don't want to experience something like that again," he said. "They have their pride, they love their jobs and they represent their club.

"They will give everything and therefore it will be much harder than in the last game."

Roma were cut open time and again by a ruthless Bayern attack in Rome, but they were frustrated at the other end by some fantastic saves from Manuel Neuer too and midfielder Miralem Pjanic insists they will not change their style.

"We're not going to change the way we play. We played badly in the first game, but we learned a lot from that defeat," he said.

"Tomorrow's a rematch, but it won't be a repeat of what happened in Rome. We want to prove the difference isn't so great.

"We're confident in our ability and we're set on showing that tomorrow against one of the best teams in Europe."