Roma coach Rudi Garcia says he would happily take a draw from his side's Champions League clash with CSKA Moscow on Tuesday night, although he insists the Giallorossi will play to win.
Should Roma get the better of their Russian hosts and Manchester City fail to beat Bayern Munich in Group E's other encounter, the Italian side will join Bayern in the knockout stages with a game to spare.
However, merely avoiding defeat in the sub-zero conditions in the Russian capital would be to Garcia's liking, even if it would then mean they will play for their passage at home to City next month.
"We've got the advantage of our result against the Russians from the reverse fixture so a draw would be useful," Garcia said at his pregame news conference. "But that is not to say we're going to play for a draw.
"Nobody thought Roma would be in a position to qualify with a game to spare when the draw was made, yet here we are with that chance. We've clearly done everything right if we're still in the running on all fronts."
Roma arrived in Moscow on Sunday evening to acclimatise to the cold conditions. The cold has been cited as the main reason why Brazilian defender Maicon did not even board that plane, but Garcia has dismissed reports of a falling out by confirming that his full-back, like Vasilis Torosidis, is injured.
"He wasn't ready," Garcia said. "My intention was to take to Moscow only the players who would have had a chance of playing, and that was not the case with him. His place will go to [Michele] Somma or even [Alessandro] Florenzi.
"Maybe I'll think up another solution, but I'm keeping that to myself. The important thing is we have payers who are able to adapt before and during the game."
That means not only to the style of play but also the conditions according to goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis, who added: "More than the cold, we've got to work out what studs to put on."