As a hobbled Manchester City team limps into the Stadio Olimpico for a final group clash that will determine which team advances to the Champions League Round of 16, the Citizens competitors in the Premier League will be keeping more than a passive eye on the contest as it could color the type of team City will be for the remainder of the season.
Victory is hardly assured, as the Light Blue Brigade will be without top-scorer Sergio Aguero who suffered a knee ligament damage in the second minute of his side's weekend win against Everton. Designated enforcer, Yaya Toure, will also be missing as he serves a suspension.
Captain Vincent Kompany and midfield wizard David Silva will be tested for fitness before the game but are far from locks to play. If Kompany and Silva are unable to contribute, the pressure will fall to Edin Dzeko and a patchwork midfield to find the back of the net and push Man City into the next round.
AS Roma, currently second in Serie A, look for only their second group stage win after thrashing CSKA Moscow 5-1 on the opening day of the UEFA Champions League in Group E. Roma’s manager Rudi Garcia will look to his leading scorer Adem Ljajic and trusted veterans, Franseco Totti, Ashley Cole and Gervinho, to get the ball past Joe Hart and show the English side the exit.
Group E permutations ahead of Matchday 6 fixtures (Image source: Wiki)
• If neither side is victorious, the route to the Round of 16 is murky and dependent on the CSKA Moscow vs Bayern Munich match.
• If Roma and Manchester City tie and CSKA finds a way past Bayern, then CSKA advances.
• If the Russian outfit is unable to secure a win, Roma will advance with a scoreless tie.
• If equal amounts of goals are scored then Manchester City goes through... Got that?
What would a Champions League exit for Man City mean to the EPL title race?
If Man City fails to progress, what kind of team will return to the Premier League? The last English champion to hoist the Premier League trophy and also advance past the Champions Leagues Round of 16 was Manchester United in 2010-2011. Conventional thinking is that if an English team remains in the Champions League deep into the competition, their play in the Premier League suffers. Basically, spending the middle of the week playing the very best of Europe causes a team to lose focus when returning to English soil at the weekend.
One only has to look at Chelsea last season to see how their late push into the semifinals of the 2013/14 UEFA Champion League corresponded with late season Premier League losses to Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Sunderland and a goalless draw against relegated side Norwich City in the penultimate game of their EPL campaign.
The Blues, current leaders of the EPL, have already comfortably advanced into the UCL Round of 16. On the contrary, Manchester City needs a win on the road to ensure passage to the next round. Current third-placed team Manchester United and surprising fourth-placed West Ham United have no European commitments. Only sixth-placed Arsenal remains in Europe's most prestigious club competition as Liverpool crashed out on Tuesday night with a whimper.
Three-point gap: Chelsea aren't all that safe at the top of the English Premier League standings
If the Citizens get eliminated on Wednesday night, then only one team in the table’s Top Five will be alive in the UEFA Champions League; that team would be Chelsea. And that would make the ever-tightening top of the table all that more interesting as Pellegrini's soldiers will be able to invest more focus and energy on defending their EPL crown.
That said, Chelsea fans may be happier to see Man City beat AS Roma and book tickets for the UCL Last 16. The more distractions for City, the merrier for the Blues!
