Roma aim to test Chelsea authority

Matchday 2 did not bring the result Chelsea FC sought as last season's runners-up had to settle for a 0-0 draw against UEFA Champions League debutants CFR 1907 Cluj in Romania. They also had a scare when Didier Drogba injured his knee and Luiz Felipe Scolari's men will be hoping the outcome is a lot happier when they take on AS Roma at home.

• The CFR Stadium staged a contest three weeks ago where both teams struggled to carve out clear scoring chances, although in the second half Frank Lampard and Drogba (before he was forced off) came close. The stalemate followed a celebratory occasion in west London two weeks previously when Scolari's introduction to Europe's premier club competition resulted in the 4-0 dismissal of FC Girondins de Bordeaux. Lampard headed Chelsea into a 14th-minute lead with Joe Cole doubling the advantage before the break. Chelsea cut through twice more in the last ten minutes with Florent Malouda getting on the scoresheet against his compatriots. Another Frenchman, Nicolas Anelka, made it 4-0 after Juliano Belletti's long-range effort had been touched on to the crossbar.

• The 16 September fixture extended Chelsea's unbeaten home run in the competition to 13 games of which ten have been won and three drawn. They were last beaten at Stamford Bridge in February 2006 when FC Barcelona triumphed 2-1 in a first knockout round meeting.

• Roma's close rivals S.S. Lazio have been the opposition on the last two occasions Chelsea were drawn against an Italian team. In the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League group stage, the Blues won 2-1 at home and 4-0 away. On their debut in the competition, in 1999/00, Chelsea faced Lazio in the second group stage when a 0-0 draw in the Stadio Olimpico was followed by a 2-1 win for the Rome club in London.

• There was an Italian obstacle for Chelsea in the first group stage as well that season with AC Milan drawn in the same section. The games ended 0-0 in London and 1-1 in Milan. Chelsea's first fixture against opponents from Serie A came in the 1997/98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semi-final when they were paired with Vicenza Calcio. A 1-0 defeat in the away leg was wiped out in a 3-1 win at home. In the final, Chelsea beat VfB Stuttgart thanks to Gianfranco Zola's goal.

• Scolari's men lead the way in the section alongside CFR with four points while Roma are just one point behind. It has been a campaign of contrasting fortunes so far for the Italians whose ground will stage the 2009 UEFA Champions League final. Roma began with a surprise 2-1 home loss to the Romanian debutants after Christian Panucci had shot them ahead.

• Then Roma won 3-1 against Bordeaux at the Stade Chaban-Delmas despite falling behind to Yoann Gourcuff's fine goal. After Henrique's 36th-minute dismissal, the away side turned the contest around with two strikes in seven minutes from Mirko Vučinić and substitute Júlio Baptista before the latter completed the victory with his second late on.

• Roma could be forgiven if they are not looking forward to their return to England for a fourth game there in the past three campaigns. In a total of eleven visits, they have only managed one victory, a 1-0 success at Liverpool FC in the fourth round of the 2000/01 UEFA Cup – with seven ending in defeat. All three recent games brought them up against Manchester United FC with one, the quarter-final of the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League, ending in an devastating 7-1 defeat, Roma's heaviest-ever in Europe.

• Last season, Luciano Spalletti's team were back at Old Trafford for a group stage fixture and this time a single goal was enough to consign the Giallorossi to defeat. The teams were then drawn together in the quarter-final for the second season running and although it was not the humiliation it had proved 12 months earlier, it still resulted in Roma's exit from the competition. They lost 2-0 at home and 1-0 away.

• Roma faced English opponents in the 1984 European Champion Clubs' Cup final which was held in the Stadio Olimpico. The game with Liverpool ended 1-1 after extra time with the Reds winning 4-2 on penalties.

• Facing Chelsea will reawaken unhappy memories for Roma full-back John Arne Riise who, while appearing as a substitute for Liverpool, headed an own goal deep in added time at the end of last season's UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg with the London side. It made the first-leg score 1-1 and gave Chelsea the impetus they needed to go on and win the home game 3-2 after extra time. Riise has also managed to score at the correct end against the same opposition when he struck just 45 seconds into the 2005 English League Cup final, but Chelsea went on to win that game, again 3-2 following extra time.

• The 2007 League Cup final featured Chelsea and Arsenal FC with Baptista appearing for the Gunners. Like Riise, however, he ended up on the losing side.

• Panucci had a short spell with Chelsea, spending part of 2000/01 on loan at Stamford Bridge.

• Chelsea back-up goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini played one game for Roma's city rivals Lazio in 1996/97.

• Bordeaux take on CFR in the group's other game.