AS Roma vs Manchester City - Rudi Garcia admits Roma have to beat Bayer Leverkusen

Posted Wednesday, November 04, 2015 by PA

Roma must put the biggest game of their season to one side as they prepare for a clash with Bayer Leverkusen this Wednesday.

The Giallorossi host Lazio in the Eternal City derby on Sunday, but while that is the game their fans want to win more than any other every season, the midweek Champions League clash with Leverkusen is setting the agenda in the build-up.

Without a win yet in the Champions League this season, Roma must ensure that changes on Wednesday if they are to maintain hope of reaching the last 16.

"We know we have to win," said coach Rudi Garcia at a press conference on Tuesday.

"Nobody's through yet and nobody's out, but we know tomorrow there's no choice: we play to win because we've got to win."

The two teams played out a 4-4 draw with both squandering two-goal leads in the process two weeks ago in Group E.

"That confirmed to us what we'd already studied about this team - that they have strengths in attack and weaknesses in defence," Garcia said.

"The final result was one which we could even have expected, given the form the two teams were in because even we were scoring a lot, and could have done better in defence."

Garcia was making no predictions for Wednesday night, but his goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny knows to expect a busy night.

Javier Hernandez netted two at the BayArena and he is once again being regarded as Leverkusen's dangerman.

"'Chicharito is a great player and he scored a lot for Manchester United before Leverkusen, and he was at Real Madrid too," said the Pole.

"Obviously he got two against us in the first game and we'll be watching him and making sure he doesn't do it again."

Hernandez is not the only threat, however, with Kevin Kampl finding his form in the first leg, and he is hoping for more of the same in Rome.

With two points separating the two sides currently second and fourth in the group, and with BATE Borisov sandwiched in between on three points and Barcelona widely-expected to pull away at the top, the Werkself could all but end Roma's hopes of going through with an away win.

"We want to and have got to keep Roma at a distance," Kampl told the Rheinische Post newspaper.

"We're heading in the right direction and losing [to Wolfsburg at the weekend] is not going to knock us off track. In fact, it could be good for us."

Leverkusen captain Lars Bender has been left behind in Germany due to injury, while Garcia has confirmed that Daniele De Rossi will start since Seydou Keita is not yet fully fit.