After a 4-1 victory at Camp Nou, Barcelona will look to wrap up the Champions League quarter-final tie with Roma on Tuesday night.

A recovery from the Italian outfit is unlikely but stranger things have happened in the knockout stages.

FORWARD THINKING

The remaining teams in the Champions League would’ve watched Barcelona’s 4-1 win at the Camp Nou back and thought – drawing them in the semis wouldn’t be the worst thing. It was a lacklustre performance with Messi well short of his best and Luis Suarez – though scoring his first goal in the competition this season – struggling as well.

Even the tactics were uninspiring with Ernesto Valverde choosing to play it safe, even deploying Sergio Roberto on the right side of midfield instead of the threatening Ousmane Dembele with Nelson Semedo starting at right-back.

Barca are starting to show signs of fatigue but the second leg is an opportunity to dispatch Roma in style and make a statement.

RAKITIC RENDERS RETURNING BUSQUETS A LUXURY

While it’s hard to picture Roma staging a comeback, exerting control over midfield could be key to extinguishing any hope of a revival.

In light of that, Sergio Busquets’ inclusion in the squad for the second leg is a welcome sight for Barcelona. The midfield maestro may only be along for the trip as an insurance policy should Roma grab a couple of goals.

However, that should be of no concern given Ivan Rakitic’s commanding display against Leganes. The Croatian was very much the deep-lying orchestrator on Saturday, registering more touches (129) and passes (115) than any other player on the pitch.

He also made four tackles and three interceptions – more than any of his team-mates. Busquets’ return is certainly a boost but ideally, the 29-year-old needn’t be troubled.

ROMA MUST HOLD OUT HOPE

Things look very bleak for Roma. Not only do they have an uphill task – to put it mildly – in the second leg but having lost 2-0 at home to Fiorentina over the weekend that saw them slip to fourth in Serie A, they’ve now gone the last three games in all competitions without a win. To compound their misery, they are set to face third-placed Lazio on Sunday.

What they can take encouragement from though is the way they played in the first leg. The Italian outfit were in control at the start of the game, restricting Lionel Messi and the rest of the Barcelona side quite impressively. They were undone by a couple of unfortunate own goals but up until then, the Catalans struggled to get the better of them.

With a little bit of luck, they may be in with a chance yet. A first-half goal for the hosts changes the complexion of the tie. Without losing their heads, Roma must replicate their Camp Nou performance to start with and then throw caution to the wind and hold out for a miracle.