Roma v Real Madrid: Preview, team news, stats and where to watch

/ Match Previews / Champions League Previews and Team News Roma v Real Madrid: Preview, team news, stats and where to watch Real Madrid will hope to make it two wins from two in the Champions League when they visit Jose Mourinho’s old club, Roma, on Wednesday night. Read our preview here…

UEFA Champions League, League Stage – 2 AS Roma ROM 14/10/2026 20:00 Real Madrid REA Venue Stadio Olimpico Where to Watch Roma v Real Madrid: TV and online streams Roma versus Real Madrid kicks off at 8pm BST (9pm local time) on Wednesday, October 14 at the Stadio Olimpico. In the UK, you can watch it on TNT Sports and stream via HBO Max.

If you live outside the UK, click the LINK HERE to find out where to watch it in your region.

There will be no shortage of emotion at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday night. José Mourinho, the man who delivered the Conference League to Roma in 2022, returns to the Eternal City in charge of Real Madrid, and he faces a Roma side who are very different from the one he left behind.

Gian Piero Gasperini has built a team that are unbeaten in Serie A, two points behind champions Inter, and widely tipped as genuine title challengers. They showed their resilience on Sunday, holding Como to a 0-0 draw despite playing the whole second half with 10 men after Donyell Malen was sent off for a reckless studs-up challenge on Kaiki.

“Now ours is a different sort of team, very different from the one that played under Mourinho,” Gasperini said. “It is a team that is giving me great satisfaction, because even today we really needed great morale, great fitness and a huge amount of heart to play like this in Como.”

Europe has been a different story, though. Roma drew 1-1 at Fenerbahçe on matchday one, stretching their winless run in European competition to four games. Their record against Madrid is not encouraging either, with four straight defeats in which they have failed to score. The Olimpico is a fortress on Champions League nights, however, and Roma have won eight of their last nine home games in the competition.

Madrid arrive after another dramatic weekend. Yan Diomande scored his first goal for the club in a 1-0 win over Villarreal on Saturday, keeping Mourinho’s side six points behind leaders Barcelona. But the win was overshadowed by Vinícius Júnior, who came off the bench, had a goal ruled out and was then sent off after a VAR review spotted him pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair in the build-up.

Madrid got their Champions League campaign off to a winning start with a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan at the Bernabéu.

Roma have problems in key areas. First-choice goalkeeper Mile Svilar is out with a non-displaced fracture of the little toe on his right foot, so Pierluigi Gollini, who impressed on his first league appearance in over two years at Como, will continue in goal.

Captain Bryan Cristante is a major doubt with inflammation in his right knee. If he misses out, Marten de Roon is expected to continue alongside Manu Koné, with Niccolò Pisilli another option. Konstantinos Koulierakis is also out with a leg injury.

Malen’s red card at Como was a domestic one, so Serie A’s top scorer is available to face Madrid.

Kylian Mbappé is fit to start after recovering from the knee problem he picked up on France duty, having started against Villarreal, although Madrid are still managing his minutes. Federico Valverde, whose ankle sprain in the Madrid derby had been the big concern, played against Villarreal and set up Diomande’s winner.

Vinícius is available too, because his red card only affects La Liga games. That means the Sevilla game and the Clásico on 25 October are at risk, but not this trip.

Éder Militão is back in group training after his thigh injury, but Mourinho has ruled him out of this game and the Sevilla match. Rodrygo (knee) is not expected back until early 2027, Raúl Asencio (tibia) is out for up to four months, and Ferland Mendy (ligament) is still unavailable.

Roma: Gollini; Mancini, Ndicka, Hermoso; Molina, De Roon, Koné, Wesley; Soulé, Dybala; Malen

Real Madrid: Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Huijsen, Rüdiger, Carreras; Tchouaméni, Valverde; Diomande, Bellingham, Vinícius; Mbappé

Roma will be dangerous and Real Madrid have shown themselves to be vulnerable at times this season, particularly away from home. But we fancy Mourinho to make a winning return to the Olimpico.

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