Roma relying on home prowess

For a long time at Stamford Bridge on Matchday 3 it looked as if AS Roma would hold out for a draw which would have kept them hot on the heels of Chelsea FC in the race for the qualifying places in Group A. Then John Terry struck with a splendid header 13 minutes from time to give the London team a four-point advantage at the top of the section.

• Roma remain in third place with three points from three games but with two home fixtures remaining there is still an opportunity for them to revive their challenge. Their performance at Chelsea was heartening after a series of indifferent domestic displays prior to their trip to London and, having defended solidly for 77 minutes before Terry crushed their hopes, they will be seeking revenge at the Stadio Olimpico.

• They will certainly be looking for a different result to their last home appearance in the UEFA Champions League. On 16 September the Giallorossi began with a surprise 2-1 home loss to the Romanian debutants CFR 1907 Cluj after Christian Panucci had shot them ahead. It meant that, having gone nine matches unbeaten at home in the UEFA Champions League, Roma have now lost their last two at the Stadio Olimpico.

• Two weeks later 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 sealed the victory with his second late on.

• The defeat in London means that Roma have lost their last three games against English opponents and five of the last six. Last season, facing Manchester United FC in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final, they lost 2-0 at home and 1-0 away. More worryingly for the Italian club, taking the home and away games together, they have come out second best on aggregate in all the last-eight meetings with English teams.

• Roma faced English opponents in the 1984 European Champion Clubs' Cup final held in the Stadio Olimpico, which is again the venue for this season's showpiece. The game with Liverpool FC ended 1-1 after extra time with the Reds winning 4-2 on penalties.

• Chelsea would be more than happy to replicate the scoreline on their last visit to the Italian capital. In the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League group stage, the Blues won 4-0 away to S.S. Lazio with Frank Lampard scoring the fourth after Hernán Crespo, substitute Eidur Gudjohnsen and Damien Duff had deflated the home side. Chelsea had also won the home game 2-1.

• On their debut in the competition, in 1999/00, Chelsea also 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.

• Taking the home-and-away contests with Italian sides together, that Lazio double-header is the only occasion Chelsea have come off second best. There was also an Italian obstacle for Chelsea in the first group stage that season with AC Milan drawn in the same section. The away game ended 1-1 after a 0-0 stalemate in London. 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.

• Chelsea's previous away game in Group A ended in a 0-0 draw against Cluj, a contest in which both teams struggled to carve out clear scoring chances, although in the second half Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba came close. On Matchday 1 the London side had got their campaign off to a resounding start with the 4-0 dismissal of 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.

• Facing Chelsea reawakens 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 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, who lost 2-1.

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

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

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