Stadio Olimpico forms the backdrop for a colossal Champions League clash between Roma and Real Madrid. Roma are still unbeaten this season, though they have drawn in their last two games against Inter and Como. Their last match away from home against Como ended in 0-0; after an end-to-end first half, Malen received a red card early in the second half, which Como couldn’t capitalize on. Though despite not getting the result they are still third in the Serie A. Roma started their campaign with a draw in Turkey against Fenerbahçe. It was their weakest performance of the season so far, so with Real Madrid visiting the Italian capital, they will need to perform a lot better. Malen will be looking to score his first goal in Europe for Roma, and after his early exit with a red card last weekend, he will be fired up to show Europe what he can do. Svilar should also be back between the posts for the Romans; the Belgian-Serbian goalkeeper has been immense for Roma this season and will likely be crucial in this match yet again. Los Blancos beat Villarreal with 1-0 over the weekend in a tight encounter, where Yan Diomandé scored his first goal for his new club. While Vinicius Jr. got sent off after pulling the hair of an opponent, turning the tide in Villarreal’s favour, that they couldn’t take advantage of. For Real Madrid it was an important victory and a confidence boost as they chase league leaders Barcelona, sitting 6 points behind while still in 4th place. Real Madrid opened their Champions League journey this season against another Italian club, Inter. The Madrid side beat the Italian champions with 2-1 in a tight game, where Madrid punished the huge mistakes of Inter’s defense. They’ll want to build on their last result by leaving Rome with three points as well to push for a top 8 spot in the league phase. Of course, Kylian Mbappé is the player to look out for this match. The Frenchman already accumulated 10 goal contributions for Real Madrid this season and has looked stellar. With the once-young star already being 27 years old and still not having won a Champions League, this might be the year he has to truly step up and lead the 15-time champions to their 16th Champions League title. The two sides faced each other four times in this tournament, which Real Madrid won all while Roma was unable to score a single goal. Rome is a city with incredible amounts of history, but there is always space for one more historical moment, unless the Kings of Europe leave the Eternal City with yet another victory. Though football is a sport that always has a surprise right around the corner, so perhaps I Lupi can get a result with their Roman gladiators Paulo Dybala and Donyell Malen against Madrid royalty in Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham.