The Italian international defender was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, and his father Franco became an avid Manchester United fan and dreamed of his son one day playing at the Theatre of Dreams.

Perrotta missed Roma's visit to Manchester last season - the infamous 7-1 defeat - but will finally achieve that ambition in the Champions League tomorrow night with numerous family members and friends in attendance.

"My father came to this stadium for 20-odd years and it was his desire to see his son play here," said Perrotta, whose father ran a wine bar in Ashton before returning to Italy in 1983 when he was five-years-old.

"Last season I wasn't fit to play in the game but now I am able to give him the satisfaction of seeing his son play here so now I can make him a very happy man indeed.

"Anyone who was here last season will remember the seven goals we conceded, but it was a whole set of circumstances that led to that result.

"Tomorrow is a different match with different players for both sides.

"It's destiny that we are playing again so soon."

Roma come into the game on the back of a 4-1 defeat at home to Inter and coach Luciano Spalletti admits that was hardly ideal preparation.

Spalletti said: "It might have been a bit better to have come here not having had such a defeat and in terms of our mental state we have to put behind us what happened on Saturday as well as last season.

"I have a great deal of faith in my players and I know they are capable of turning things around.

"We have overcome some problems not just recently but during the last two years, and we now have a strong and well-balanced team.

"It's a difficult match, you are preparing for a huge game against one of the greatest teams in the world.

"My team will work extremely hard to make up for what happened last time around. We want to draw a line under what happened then."

Spalletti said however that Roma should not be out for revenge.

He added: "We should be talking in terms of reacting to what happened last time, but if we talk about revenge or vendetta then we risk playing in the wrong state of mind."

Roma will be without Christian Panucci, who has not travelled from Italy due to a bad back.

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Asked to comment on reports that he and Panucci had fallen out, Spalletti admitted they had a disagreement.

He added: "It's true to say that we have had words but as far as I am concerned we have sorted it out. Whether the same goes for the player, I can't say."