Football
Liam Twomey, Chelsea correspondent 7y

Roma wary of 'angry' Chelsea in Champions League clash - Edin Dzeko

LONDON -- Edin Dzeko warned that Roma will face an "angry" Chelsea looking to atone for Saturday's shock defeat against Crystal Palace when the two teams meet at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Roma also head into the Champions League clash on the back of a defeat, having lost 1-0 at home to rivals Napoli on Saturday, and will be without a host of injured players that includes influential defender Kostas Manolas.

Both teams know a positive result at Stamford Bridge could be crucial as Atletico Madrid face Group C underdogs Qarabag in Azerbaijan, but Dzeko -- who has scored 10 goals in 13 appearances for club and country this season and was rewarded with a place on the 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist -- does not believe Chelsea's recent setbacks will help Roma.

"That's the English Premier League," Dzeko said of the Crystal Palace victory. "You can win against the best team and then lose against the last.

"Chelsea is a great team with some amazing players. Tomorrow will be a much different game and will be much more difficult for us than it was for Crystal Palace, even though they won the game.

"Tomorrow we'll play maybe also against an angry, but top team. Their coach will put pressure on them. But we didn't come here to play and lose, we came here to give our best and have a positive result."

Earlier on Tuesday, Marcos Alonso named Dzeko as the one player he would take out of the Roma team for Wednesday's match if he had the choice.

"It's too late now to take me out!" a smiling Dzeko replied. "I read about that. If I could take five [out of Chelsea], I would take five, it would be much easier then for us. I think in total Chelsea is a great team with not just one top player. Unfortunately I cannot. We have to play the game, we have to give our best and hopefully we can do that."

Dzeko also had words of praise for fellow striker Alvaro Morata, who has lit up the Premier League since joining Chelsea from Real Madrid for an initial fee of £58 million in the summer.

Asked what he thought of the Spain international's adaptation to the Premier League, the former Manchester City striker replied: "Very quick. He scored already some goals, important goals as well. Then he got injured. He's an important player for Chelsea. We will see tomorrow if he's going to play.

"Obviously it would be better [for Roma] if not, keep him fresh for the next game. He's a great player, but Chelsea is a great team. They know what they are doing. We will prepare well tonight, sleep well and hopefully tomorrow play a good game."

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