Roma will be hoping to put behind them a crushing Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich last season when they host defending champions Barcelona in their group opener on Wednesday.
A 7-1 defeat to the German club on what was Roma's return to the competition after a three-year absence set the tone for the Serie A side's group-stage exit.
Having added strikers Edin Dzeko and Iago Falque, as well as several defenders during the summer, Roma coach Rudi Garcia now has the backbone of a squad that some feel has league-winning credentials.
Domestically, Roma have avoided defeat so far, and beaten champions Juventus, to sit two points behind leaders Inter Milan.
Barcelona showed their superiority when they humbled Juventus 3-1 in last season’s final and, in a Group E that also includes Bayer Leverkusen and Bate Borisov, Luis Enrique’s side are expected to finish first.
Barcelona dominated Roma 3-0 in a pre-season friendly as Neymar, Lionel Messi and Ivan Rakitic each scored.
Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny knows Barcelona’s attacking potential well, having been beaten twice by Messi, once from the penalty spot, when former club Arsenal lost 3-1 at the Camp Nou on their way to a 4-3 aggregate defeat in the 2010/11 round of 16.
“We can’t wait to come up against a fantastic side like Barcelona,” Szczesny said after Saturday’s 2-0 win away to promoted side Frosinone.
“We already showed against Juventus we’re confident when facing the best teams in Europe.”
Fans might be feeling confident but Roma’s recent league win over the Italian champions must be seen in the light of Juve’s current struggles, which have seen them with one point from three league outings.
Barcelona won four of six away games in the Champions League last season, scoring in every one, although the Catalan club’s record against Italian teams is less impressive.
Barcelona have won just one of their past six matches in Italy, beating AC Milan 3-2 in the 2011/12 group stages, and won only six of their 20 away matches against Serie A sides.
“We’ve got a tough group, like most teams,” said Barca coach Luis Enrique, who as coach of Roma in the 2011/12 season led them to a seventh-place finish.
Barca defender Javier Mascherano told Uefa’s website he expects Roma to take the game to the champions, although Barca would relish a team taking them on at what they do best.
“Roma play football. This sometimes works well for us, but they’re a quality side and we know they’re going to play their game from the off and fight for every ball,” Mascherano said.
“They are a side with tradition and, above all, we know how hard it is to go to Italy and play. Tactically, they’re teams that defend well and it’s not easy to score against them. It will be a difficult game for us.”
Roma captain Francesco Totti made his league debut last weekend but is set to start on the bench after Juan Iturbe impressed on his second-half appearance against Frosinone.
Barcelona welcome back defender Gerard Pique after he missed their first three La Liga games through suspension. Also, the injured Dani Alves has been left off the 20-man travelling party.
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