Spot in final beckons free-scoring Liverpool

Liverpool holds a three-goal advantage going into the second leg on Wednesday, with Roma looking to recreate the magic of Barcelona and Shakhtar Donetsk ties.

Liverpool was 5-0 up with only 10 minutes of the first leg remaining and in complete control of the tie. Mohamed Salah had weaved his magic, scoring two goals and assisting two other, and other than Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain picking up a knee ligament injury, Liverpool had had a perfect night. But goals from Edin Dzeko and Diego Perrotti have kept Roma in the tie, giving it the belief that it can win coming from behind as it did against Shakhtar Donetsk in the round of 16 and against Barcelona in the quarterfinals.

Liverpool, with its dynamic forward line, is more than capable of scoring at Stadio Olimipico, where Shakhtar and Barcelona fired blanks and the advantage carried over from the first leg wasn't made to count.

Wijnaldum: L'pool not scared of AS Roma comeback

The Premier League side has played nearly as well away from home as it has at Anfield, scoring five at Porto and two at Manchester City, and will carry great belief into the match. Roma, likewise, has the recent form and record at home to feel confident of turning around the tie. 

Team news

Rick Karsdorp (knee injury), Gregoire Defrel (also knee injury) and Kevin Strootman (leg injury) are out of the second leg, with the participation of Diego Perrotti in doubt. 

For Liverpool, Adam Lallana has made a rapid recovery from his hamstring injury and is in contention for the second leg in Rome. Joel Matip (thigh injury), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (knee ligament injury), Emre Can (back injury), and Joe Gomez (ankle injury) have been ruled out of the second leg.

Possible line-ups

Roma (3-5-2): Alisson Becker (GK); Juan Jesus, Kostas Manolas, Federico Fazio; Alessandro Florenzi, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Daniele De Rossi, Radja Nainggolan, Aleksandar Kolarov; Patrick Schick, Edin Dzeko

Liverpool (4-3-3): Loris Karius (GK); Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dejan Lovren, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson; Jordan Henderson, Giorginio Wijnaldum, James Milner; Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane

Stats

• Porous away from home, Roma has yet to concede in five Champions League home games this season