ROME – The history of Italian women’s football is set to have another chapter written on Tuesday, March 21, with Serie A Femminile leaders AS Roma welcoming Barcelona to the Stadio Olimpico in the first leg of their Women’s Champions League quarter-finals. Not only is it the Giallorosse’s first-ever knockout-round game in the competition, but it is also their first-ever season in the Champions League and their debut at the Olimpico – the men’s team’s home stadium.
With over 35,000 tickets having been sold by March 18, it’s clear that Roma fans have fully bought in to the work being done by Alessandro Spugna at the helm, but the challenge posed by the runaway Liga F leaders is a daunting one. They did, though, ensure that they were coming into the game in the best possible form by dispatching of Fiorentina with a comfortable 5-1 away win last time out.
Although Spugna has his Roma side eight points clear of Juventus at the top of the Serie A Femminile table, Barcelona Femeni boast a ten-point lead over Real Madrid in Spain’s top tier, having won every one of their 22 games. On top of that, they’ve scored a barely-believable 98 goals already and conceded just five.
The number makes for terrifying reading for Roma, and there’s little doubt that the Catalan giants – even without long-term injury absence and Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas – are the strongest side they have ever had to face in their short four-and-a-half-year history. They may, though, take some encouragement from Barcelona’s 3-1 loss away at Bayern Munich in the group phase of this season’s Women’s Champions League. They topped Bayern in Group D with both sides finishing on 15 points, but Barcelona had a goal difference of 23 compared to the Bavarians’ seven.
A look at the Catalans’ form, though, will soon turn that hope and cautious optimism to dread. Oddly, they did concede last time out against Valencia in their 5-1 win, but they have comfortably won every other game played so far in 2023. Their results this calendar year, working back, are: 5-1, 4-0, 5-0, 4-0, 7-0, 4-0, 6-0, 7-0, 3-0, 3-1, 3-0, a 1-0 Copa loss to Osasuna, and another 4-0 win.
AS Roma vs Barcelona: Predicted line-ups
AS Roma predicted XI vs Barcelona: Ceasar; Bartoli, Wenninger, Linari, Minami; Andressa, Greggi, Giugliano; Serturini, Giacinti, Haavi.
Barcelona predicted XI vs AS Roma: Panos; Bronze, Paredes, Leon, Rolfo; Graham Hansen, Bonmati, Walsh, Guijaaro, Paralluelo; Oshoala.
AS Roma vs Barcelona: Where to watch the Women’s Champions League game?
DAZN hold the rights to the Women’s Champions League for the 2022/23 season, and they have made every single game available to watch for free in an attempt – which has proven successful – to get more eyes on the women’s game.
As such, AS Roma vs Barcelona in the Women’s Champions League quarter-finals will be streamed live on DAZN’s YouTube channel here.
AS Roma vs Barcelona: What is the Women’s Champions League game’s start time?
AS Roma vs Barcelona in the first leg of their Women’s Champions League quarter-final tie is set to kick off at 21:00 CET – local time in Italy and in Catalonia – on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. That makes kick-off a 20:00 GMT start for viewers in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
For fans in the United States, you can find kick-off in AS Roma vs Barcelona at 15:00 ET or 12:00 PT.
