AS Roma's winning streak of 11 games is history and Luciano Spalletti's team can't afford a third loss in a row when it faces Middlesbrough for a place in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals.

Beaten 1-0 at Middlesbrough tomorrow, Roma lost 3-2 at Ascoli on Sunday to end a run of 13 games unbeaten in Serie A. Spalletti has to make sure his players rebound with a victory at home today.

With playmaker and captain Francesco Totti out until May after surgery to repair serious leg and ankle injuries, Roma has hit problems.

Italy striker Vincenzo Mon-tella has a back injury and another forward, Shabani Nonda, is out for the rest of the season with a knee problem. Goalkeeper Alexander Doni is also missing and backup Gianluca Curci hurt his right shoulder while warming up for the Ascoli match. "Obviously, playing every three days, we can't be our best," said experienced defender Christian Panucci, whose team is also going strong in the Italian Cup.

"It's tough to go all the way in three competitions ... clearly our primary goal is finishing fourth (in the league)."

Rodrigo Taddei, who scored against Ascoli with Roma 3-0 down, is confident his team will return to form against Boro. "Now we've got to focus on Middlesbrough, we want to advance and I'm convinced you're going to see the real Roma, the one that won 11 straight games," the attacking midfielder said.

Spalletti said he hoped Roma's skill would overcome Middlesbrough's power.

"They were very strong physically and they produced more than what I had seen of them," he said. "I'm convinced we will be able to turn the tables and win the game. We have to rely on our skill."

Even though Rome has to overturn a first-leg deficit, Serie A has a chance to get three clubs into the last eight.

Palermo goes to Germany's Schalke with a 1-0 lead and Udinese is at Levski Sofia with the teams tied at 0-0. The two Italian teams played each other on Sunday and Palermo won 2-0. Schalke's first-leg loss at Palermo was its first defeat of 2006 and it came back with a 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.

"After the first defeat of this year against Palermo, it was particularly important to come back in the Bundesli-ga," said coach Mirko Slomka, adding he was confident of beating Palermo in the second leg but was taking nothing for granted. "The hunt is only over when the animal is in the bag," he said.

Despite Udinese's loss to Palermo, Levski coach Stanimir Stoilov said his team would be cagey against Udinese. "One mistake can decide the outcome," he said. "We have to be very careful and build up a solid defense wall, because an early goal by Udinese could decide the match." Like Italy, France hopes to get three teams into the quarterfinals.

Lille goes to Sevilla holding a 1-0 advantage, Strasbourg hosts Basel but is 2-0 behind and Marseille goes to Russia already 1-0 down to Zenit St. Petersburg and without experienced goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, who has a calf muscle injury.

Marseille coach Jean Fernandez and his assistant, Albert Emon, will watch the second leg from the stands after being suspended from the touchline after contesting decisions made by the first-leg referee.