Three key battles that could decide LFC v Roma

The eventual victor of the two-legged tie will book a final date with either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in Kiev, Ukraine, on May 26.

The Reds have lost just one of their five previous meetings with Roma. The most famous clash with I Giallorossi came in 1984 when Liverpool took on the Italians at their own Stadio Olimpico in the European Cup final and beat them on penalties.

In the most recent encounter with Roma, during the 2001-02 Champions League second group stages, a Jari Litmanen penalty and a glancing header from Emile Heskey helped the Reds secure a 2-0 victory at Anfield.

Jürgen Klopp's side would surely settle for a repeat of that result on Tuesday night and we've picked out three key battles that could help decide the first leg in Liverpool.

Virgil van Dijk v Edin Dzeko

Target man Edin Dzeko provides Roma's main goal threat and, after netting a club-record 39 goals in all competitions last season, he's scored 20 of their 69 strikes this term.

With winger Stephan El Shaarawy next in the club standings on eight goals for the season, it could even be argued that the visitors are over-reliant on the 6'4" striker.

The 32-year-old has scored or assisted in Roma's last five Champions League games and was pivotal in their sensational aggregate win over FC Barcelona on away goals in the last round.

Dzeko netted away in the 4-1 loss at the Nou Camp and hit the opener at the Stadio Olimpico to spark the thrilling three-goal comeback against the Spanish side.

Excellent in the air and a great finisher, the Bosnian plays in the centre of an attacking trio - usually flanked by El Shaarawy and recently Cengiz Under - which allows Dzeko to concentrate his efforts in and around the area, where he is most effective.

Nullifying the former Manchester City striker would go a long way to weakening Roma and Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk is likely to be the man tasked with doing just that.

The ball-playing Netherlands skipper has helped tighten up the Reds defence since his arrival from Southampton in January and leads the team with a whopping 7.7 clearances per game in the Champions League.

Also standing at 6'4" tall, the aerial and physical battle with Dzeko should be intriguing.

Mohamed Salah v Aleksandar Kolarov

Signed in the summer from Manchester City, left-back Aleksandar Kolarov has quickly become a fixture in Eusebio Di Francesco's side, featuring in 41 of Roma's 47 games in all competitions this season.

The set-piece specialist scored the winning free-kick on his debut (which certainly helps to win over the fans when you used to play for arch-rivals Lazio) and leads the team with 13 assists.

Urged to get forward down the flank in an attacking 4-3-3 system - or pushed into midfield in the 3-5-2 alternative used in the second leg against Barcelona - six of those assists have been pin-point crosses while another two have come from marauding runs into the box that have resulted in penalties.

Another three have come from free-kicks and corners.

However, the 32-year-old is likely to be lining up against Liverpool's record-breaking 41-goal forward Mohamed Salah at Anfield and it's his defensive capabilities that should be tested to the maximum.

The Serbia international will have to call on all his experience and guile to do something that few opponents have managed this season: stop Salah.

If the left-back is too busy tracking LFC's No.11 to bomb forward and augment Roma's attack, the Reds will have stemmed a key supply-line for the forwards.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain v Radja Nainggolan

Tenacious Belgian international Radja Nainggolan is renowned for his dominating displays as the powerhouse of Roma's midfield but the 29-year-old can adopt a more finessed approach when required too.

Usually lining up alongside Kevin Strootman and Daniele De Rossi in a three-man central midfield, Nainggolan has recently been pushed into a more advanced role by Di Francesco and was the driving force in the aforementioned 3-0 win over Barcelona.

Playing ahead of his usual midfield partners as part of a 3-5-2 he was available to receive the ball in attacking positions and unleash high-quality through balls or powerful shots on goal.

His alternative position also allows the imposing Belgian to hustle high up the pitch and disrupt the opposition. It worked perfectly against Barcelona and it was a role he reprised five days later in the Derby della Capitale against Lazio and again at the weekend against SPAL.

While many of Roma's first-team regulars were rested ahead of Tuesday's clash with Liverpool, Nainggolan pulled on the captain's armband and scored his fourth goal of the season in a 3-0 win over the Serie A strugglers.

It's a role not too dissimilar to that which Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain fulfils with the Reds and the duo could be in direct competition at Anfield.

Liverpool's summer signing from Arsenal can operate all across midfield, but four of his five goals for the Reds, and seven of his eight assists, have come when playing in a more central role.

Strong on the ball and capable of carrying possession from deep, the England international excelled in the quarter-finals against Manchester City when he was pitted against highly-rated Brazil midfielder Fernandinho - a player also adept at both the attacking and defensive sides of the game.