Picking a Combined Roma vs. Manchester City XI

Manchester City and AS Roma have a potentially season-defining match to play on Wednesday. The winner is likely to qualify to the Champions League knock-out round.

The loser will be left to answer a lot of uncomfortable questions about how they did not get out of Group E. The two teams, along with CSKA Moscow, have five points going into the final matchday. 

City and Roma are stocked with terrific talent, at least in specific places on the roster. It is pretty difficult to qualify for the Champions League without great talent in place—unless you're Arsenal.

Their respective rosters are defined as much by the gaps they have rather than by their strongest points. That is why neither one of these clubs gave Bayern Munich much to think about as Bayern waltzed to qualification with the first spot from Group E.

That said, if you put the two rosters together, the gaps disappear pretty quickly and you are left with one extraordinary team.

Here is a combined City/Roma XI in advance of their coming clash for Champions League survival.

Goalkeeper: Joe Hart

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Hart is pretty pleased with things these days.

Joe Hart has millions of reasons not to worry about what Manchester City supporters think about him these days.

"Hart hopes to sign a new four-and-a-half year contract before he travels to Italy on Tuesday for (City's) make-or-break Champions League clash against Roma the following night," wrote Joe Bernstein in the Daily Mail.

Bernstein reported that "with bonuses and image rights, it could more than double his current wages of £80,000 a week." That makes sense, considering how the club's website says that City are looking for Hart to "continue on his path towards being considered one of City's best-ever goalkeepers."

Left-Back: Ashley Cole

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Cole is the best of a not-great lot at this position for this exercise.

Let's just dispense with this bit of business right up front: This is the weakest position in the City/Roma XI, and there really is not a close second.

City manager Manuel Pellegrini has done the best he could with the platoon of Aleksandar Kolarov and Gael Clichy this season, particularly given the time Kolarov has missed due to injury. And Clichy has turned in a number of professional if not spectacular performances while Kolarov has been out.

But it would be surprising if City did not acquire a better left-back in the summer transfer window after this season ends.

As for Cole, the former Chelsea man is no stranger to or favorite of City supporters, but it is hard to argue with his talent. Certainly Roma know how important Cole is to their hopes against City.

"The Giallorossi rested several key players, including Francesco Totti, Ashley Cole and the former Arsenal attacker Gervinho" in the run-up to this match, wrote Alan Smith in The Guardian.

Centre-Back: Vincent Kompany

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Time is working its evil effects on Kompany, but he is still great when he is fit.

This has not been a great season for Vincent Kompany at City so far. But he will have many opportunities to set things right this season, starting perhaps with this showdown with Roma.

"Kompany, David Silva and Stevan Jovetic need to prove their fitness" for this match, noted Andy Hampson of the Press Association (h/t The Daily Mail).

This is especially so since Sergio Aguero almost certainly will not play due to injury and Yaya Toure continues to serve the suspension he earned for his straight red card against CSKA Moscow.

Any great escape from Rome by City will probably need to involve a strong performance from the Sky Blues captain.

Centre-Back: Leandro Castan

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Castan is a big miss for Roma.

The remarkable degree to which elite athletes still sometimes fall victim to illness is both shocking and saddening. So it is for Castan.

"Castan has had neurosurgery that successfully removed a malformation on his brain, the club have said," noted a recent AP report in The Daily Mail. "Castan has been out of action since a September victory at Empoli, where he was substituted at halftime because of dizziness."

City supporters might want to take it down a notch or two complaining about Sergio Aguero's knee or that of David Silva.

Injuries happen in sport, but it be a far better thing if illness would not. Either way, Castan deserves to be on this list despite, not because of, his recent misfortune.

Right-Back: Pablo Zabaleta

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Zabaleta was certainly enjoying himself at the Stadium of Light.

Pablo Zabaleta's recent chip finish over former Manchester City goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon (all 6'8" of him) to help City beat Sunderland did not put Zabeleta in this XI.

It sure didn't hurt, though. Neither did Zabaleta's recent remarks about how his side must put up or shut up in this match with Roma.

"We are a much better team now than when we played Roma at home," Zabaleta said recently per Jeremy Cross of the Daily Star. "Confidence is high at the moment and that is what we need to play against Roma to win the game."

City will need some of Zabaleta's marauding magic down the right side of the pitch if they are to sneak past Roma in this upcoming match.

Midfielder: Kevin Strootman

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The intrigue around Strootman makes this upcoming City/Roma match all the more interesting.

Kevin Strootman may be a Roma player now, but Manchester City might soon be seeing a whole lot more of Strootman.

Ironically, City might be the ones to (indirectly) wrest Strootman from Roma and deposit him with one of City's biggest rivals.

Manchester United "have been long-term admirers of Strootman," wrote Charles Perrin in the Express.

So where does City factor in? The price United will have to pay to land Strootman, it turns out. "Reports indicate that Roma will cut their £60 million valuation should City dump them out of the Champions League," Perrin reported.

There you are then, United supporters: You're pulling for City in their next match. Right, no you're not.

Midfielder: Yaya Toure

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No, no, Yaya! Come on, I have not used that one before, like, ever.

In a weird way, Yaya Toure seeing red against CSKA Moscow was the best thing that could have happened to Manchester City.

Toure had been cruising through this season as though it had not really started yet. Since that debacle in Russia, though, Toure has steadily regained his status as the one the opposition cannot account for in the City midfield.

He has made five starts in the Premier League since the red card and scored three times. Two of them, against Swansea City and then against Everton, were match-winners.

City will miss Toure against Roma, but it is nice to have the massive Ivorian back in form anyway.

Midfielder: David Silva

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I still have no idea why Pellegrini had Silva on the pitch in a Capital One Cup match.

The closer this City/Roma match gets, the more we hear that David Silva is going to give it a try.

"Manchester City have been boosted by the news that Vincent Kompany and David Silva are both in contention to play" against Roma, wrote Paul Clennam for Goal.com.

John Richardson of the Express is not even hedging. "Pellegrini will throw midfield magician David Silva into Wednesday night's decisive qualifying game against Roma in the Eternal City following a five week absence through a knee injury," Richardson wrote.

No one player can replace Sergio Aguero's missing threat for City, but having Silva on the pitch would give the players tasked with finding a goal for the Sky Blues that much more help.

Midfielder: Miralem Pjanic

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Pjanic had himself a day against Inter Milan.

"Miralem Pjanic's second-half double ensured Roma kept up the pressure on Serie A leaders Juventus after beating Inter Milan 4-2," wrote Sean Gallagher for the Daily Mail last week.

With Kevin Strootman, Pjanic gives Roma two dynamic young midfielders to deploy against Manchester City in this crucial match.

And like Strootman, Pjanic is drawing a lot of interest outside of Serie A.

"(Paris St-Germain) are evaluating the possibility of exchanging the highly sought-after Adrien Rabiot for Roma's playmaker Miralem Pjanic," reported Jamie Anderson in the Express recently.

Forward: Francesco Totti

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Totti has still got it.

This is a bit of a lifetime achievement award for Totti, but he has certainly earned it.

Mark Doyle wrote for Goal.com:

"

Over the course of a remarkable career that spans 22 years, the iconic forward has struck a total of 237 times in Italy's top flight. Totti sits second on the all-time scorers' chart, some 39 goals shy of the legendary Silvio Piola, but the 38-year-old forward still believes that he has enough left in the tank to make history.

"

Manchester City certainly are in no position to suggest that Totti does not still have what it takes.

Forward: Sergio Aguero

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You never want to see Aguero and the physio in the same shot.

Supporting Manchester City and loving Sergio Aguero means living like a college guy whose incredibly beautiful girlfriend is forever vacillating between making every moment amazing and then disappearing for weeks at a time.

So here we go again with Aguero, who thrilled the Sky Blue faithful with a white-hot start to this season (he leads the Premier League with 14 goals) but finds himself again out of action when his club needs him most.

It is never a good sign when The Guardian can run a full-length feature on your injury history even though you're only 26.

Hopefully Nick Ames kept that piece in a Word document. You know he is going to be updating that thing in the years to come.