Roma v Liverpool team news: Sadio Mane & Jordan henderson fit, Strootman and Perotti miss out for Roma
Sadio Mane will take his place back in the Liverpool line-up for their Champions League semi-final second leg against Roma at Stadio Olimpico.
Captain Jordan Henderson and right back Trent Alexander-Arnold are also fit to play after picking up knocks during Saturday’s draw with Stoke.
Mane missed the Stoke game with an unspecified problem but Jurgen Klopp says he’s fit to take his place up front alongside Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.
Henderson suffered a worrying ankle injury against Stoke while Alexander-Arnoled picked up a dead leg, but both will play in Rome.
19-year-old Alexander-Arnold played in midfield on Saturday but will revert to right back, while Andrew Robertson will return at left back and Dejan Lovren will be back at centre half.
Roma v Liverpool build-up
Joe Gomez hasn’t travelled to Italy due to injury and while Adam Lallana is in the group he will not make the matchday squad as he continues his return from injury.
There’ll be few surprises in Klopp’s team selection as Gini Wijnaldum coming in for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be the only change to the team that started the first leg last week.
Roma boss Eusebio di Francesco faces a more difficult selection problem given how his team performed at Anfield when playing three at the back.
As he mulls over his formation, Di Francesco has to plan without midfielder Kevin Strootman who is out with a rib injury.
Diego Perotti did well when coming off the bench at Anfield and slotted home the late penalty expertly, but he’s due to miss the game with an ankle problem. Gregoire Defrel (ankle) and Rick Karsdorp (knee) are long-term absentees for the Giallorossi.
MATCH STATS
- No team has ever overturned a 5-2 first-leg defeat away from home in the European Cup/Champions League. The last time there was such a scoreline in a first-leg of the competition was in 1999-00, with Valencia knocking out Lazio 5-3 on aggregate (5-2, 0-1).
- Liverpool are yet to lose to Roma in the European Cup/Champions League in four meetings (W2 D2), with one of those draws in the 1984 final (1-1), which Liverpool won 4-2 on penalties in the Stadio Olimpico.
- This is Liverpool's 10th appearance in the semi-final of the European Cup - they've progressed to the final on seven of the previous nine occasions, losing only in 1964-65 against Inter Milan and in 2007-08 against Chelsea.
- Roma are appearing in their first European semi-final for 27 years, when they faced Brondby in the Uefa Cup in 1990-91. Their only previous European Cup semi-final was in 1983-84, when they eliminated Dundee United to face Liverpool in the final.
- Roma are the only team yet to concede a single goal at home in the Champions League this season (five games). They have also won all of their past four such games at the Olimpico (including two by three clear goals), but have never won five in a row.
- Meanwhile, Liverpool are the only unbeaten side in the Champions League this season (W7 D4).
- The Reds have scored 38 goals in this season's competition, the most by an English team in a single Champions League campaign. In fact, since the new format was introduced in 2003-04, only Real Madrid (41 goals in 2013-14) scored more than Liverpool have this season.
- Liverpool are the first side in Champions League history to see three players score eight or more goals in a single season (Salah 10, Firmino 10, Mane eight).
- Mohamed Salah has scored in each of his past five Champions League starts for Liverpool, a feat only Steven Gerrard had previously accomplished for the club (between October 2007 and February 2008).
- James Milner has provided eight assists in the Champions League this season (nine including qualifying), the joint most in a single campaign in the competition proper since the new format was introduced in 2003-04, level with Neymar in 16-17.
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