It was a night when everything went right for Manchester United, a night when AS Roma’s players, according to Cristiano Ronaldo, were “almost begging” him to stop. The 7-1 quarter-final, second leg victory over Roma at Old Trafford last season stands out as United’s most stunning European performance in many years and as the teams prepare to meet again at the same stage, it is tempting to wonder whether the Italians can stomach another trip to Manchester.

The bookmakers reacted to the Champions League quarter-final draw yesterday by shortening United’s price as favourites to win the tournament and, while odds of 3-1 look unappealing, given their habit of falling agonisingly short in the Champions League, it is hard to imagine that Sir Alex Ferguson was fretting as he heard that his team would be heading to Rome while Arsenal and Liverpool were paired together in the other half of the draw, where they are joined by Chelsea. It could have been easier for United, but it could have been harder, particularly given the psychological advantage that they hold over Roma.

“It will be difficult, but we have a very good chance of going through,” Carlos Queiroz, the United assistant manager, said. “Our strength could be our weakness. They know us well and I watched them beat Real Madrid twice [in the last 16]. This team is improving. They are much stronger than when we played them last season.”

The suggestion that “our strength could be our weakness” hints at a belief that complacency poses the greatest threat to United’s ambitions, but having met Roma at the same stage last season and in the group stage this campaign, they know that the Olympic Stadium is an intimidating place to play football. They were fortunate to escape with a 2-1 deficit in the first leg last season and were relieved that they had qualified for the knockout phase by the time they took a shadow squad to Italy for an academic final group match in December. That was a low-key encounter, ending in a 1-1 draw, but this one will be anything but.

Roma have more to their armoury than the hostility of their supporters, with Luciano Spalletti, the coach, offering an innovative take on a 4-1-4-1 formation, which has flummoxed many opponents, most recently Real. With Francesco Totti, their captain and talisman, functioning as lone striker and playmaker, they caused United serious problems in the first leg in Rome last season, with the skilful wing play of Mancini and the energy of Simone Perrotta leaving United grateful to escape with the tie in the balance, particularly having lost Paul Scholes to an early red card.

The second leg, though, was a different matter, with United enjoying one of those nights when everything clicked. Ryan Giggs turned in a virtuoso display, Michael Carrick scaled heights that he has not reached since, Alan Smith was bullish as a centre forward and Ronaldo, having finally broken his goalscoring duck in the Champions League, was unplayable.

When Roma returned to Old Trafford in this season’s group phase, though, it was far closer, with Wayne Rooney’s late goal earning United a 1-0 win.

For the moment, United are preoccupied by the Barclays Premier League, where they are eager to take advantage of Arsenal’s recent wobble and claim the initiative in what Ferguson feels is a three-horse race. “The teams at the top have been dropping points – ourselves, Arsenal and Chelsea – so if we can get on a consistent run, we will give ourselves a better chance,” the United manager said. With Derby County their opponents, United expect more points on the board today.