After the comeback of Luciano Spalletti Roma have been playing good and are now two points away from the Champions League zone. They’ve kept a clean sheet only once after Christmas holidays and they were lucky Berardi missed a penalty in that game.
Real Madrid’s defence is no better, and they are also missing Pepe and Marcelo. However, Roma lately have not been a team that plays well against better sides. Let’s not forget 1-6 from Barcelona and 1-7 from Bayern Munich.
This makes me think that Real Madrid are going to win in a high-scoring match. Real Madrid and total over 2.5 goals looks like a sound pick here. I also like William Hill’s special offer – Cristiano Ronaldo to score and Real Madrid to win at 3.0. With Bale missing the game, all the balls will go to Ronaldo, who must be angered that Luis Suarez is now La Liga’s highest scoring player this season, leaving the Portuguese behind.