Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has warned his side that Roma will be no pushovers ahead of their Champions League match on Wednesday.
The German champions humiliated hosts Roma 7-1 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome a fortnight ago, and have set their sights on securing top spot in group E ahead of the fifth group match at Manchester City in late November.
Three points at the Allianz Arena will be enough to win the group no matter the outcome of City's reverse fixture against CSKA Moscow on Wednesday, but Guardiola is still wary of the Serie A side.
"I think Roma are still are very good team," he told his pregame news conference on Tuesday. "When you grant them too much space, they are very fast and have a high quality in midfield. And that's the team we will see tomorrow."
Guardiola believes that Rudi Garcia's side will not only fight for crucial points on Wednesday, but also face "a question of honour, and a question of love for their profession."
The Bayern coach says Roma's players "don't want to go through a situation like in the reverse fixture again," though knows his side "have the opportunity to qualify for the next round. But tomorrow will be more difficult than in Rome. [Roma] will give it their all, but we are aware of that and we know how to play them."
Despite Guardiola fearing that his XI would run into problems in the first half of the season, Bayern have played a near-to-perfect campaign: the Bundesliga champions are undefeated so far, and have only dropped points in three league matches.
"I'm satisfied. I think that we play better than last season," he said. "We only won the Bundesliga because of Jupp Heynckes. Without him we would not have been as successful in the first phase of the season.
"We don't necessarily play better, that might be the wrong word. We are closer to my ideas, but it's still not what I want."
Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery made the difference for the Bundesliga leaders in their 2-1 comeback win against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, and the Catalan coach praised his veteran wingers.
"His most recent years were madness," Guardiola said of Robben. "I am satisfied with him when he's fit. And my goal is that he's not injured."
Ribery came off the bench to help turn the game against BVB around, and Guardiola added that he is "delighted to have him back on board."