De Rossi puts fire under the Roma cauldron

Despite being on top of Group A with seven points after beating AS Roma 1-0 at home, Chelsea FC will not be expecting an easy return leg this week, with Daniele De Rossi telling uefa.com: "We will show how important our fans are and what they can do for us."

'Little bit extra'
Roma supporters looking to create an atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico as intimidating as the one gladiators once faced at the city's ancient Colosseum, but De Rossi knows his team-mates have to play their part too: "It's up to us," explained the 25-year-old Italian international. "We have to work on it and be professional. If things don't go easily you have to work hard and it's good to know that there are people that are behind us pushing us on. It gives us that little bit extra."

Morale boost
Luciano Spalletti's side are having a tough time in Serie A, where they find themselves at the wrong end of the table, and they have collected just three points from their first three UEFA Champions League matches this term too. Nonetheless, thanks to FC Girondins de Bordeaux's 1-0 victory against CFR 1907 Cluj on Matchday 3, Roma can still aspire to a top-two finish in the section. "It was important that the Romanian team didn't win," said De Rossi. "This could help us to recover and be more successful in the return matches."

Encouraging display
The Giallorossi can take further encouragement from the performance they put in at Stamford Bridge. "We played one of the strongest teams in Europe and we didn't look too bad," added De Rossi. "But it doesn't matter who you face, we were able to play at the same level. It wasn't an impressive performance from us, but we were able to keep pace with them."

'We are confident'
Knocked out of last season's competition by Manchester United FC, this time Roma can only hope a victory against another English side can spark a UEFA Champions League Lazarus act. French defender Philippe Mexès said: "We will make it out of this. It won't be easy, but we are confident and two or three good results now would bring us back."