The Italians visit Basle tomorrow knowing anything other than victory will severely dent their chances of reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League, while this weekend they take on bitter rivals Lazio in Serie A. Totti, who was sent off in Saturday's 2-0 win over Lecce, is set to miss the Rome derby through suspension. To complicate matters for Roma coach Claudio Ranieri, Totti is fighting against the clock to recover from a shoulder injury sustained at the weekend. "I really don't want to sit out the game against Basle," said Totti. "More so, considering that I will probably be out for the Sunday's derby, which is a very important game for me. "I will do everything possible to recover and play against Basle." Roma are ninth in the Serie A standings after nine matches and bottom of Group E in Europe after one win and two losses. Ranieri is optimistic heading into both games. "It's going to be a delicate game against Basle," he said. "But the team is serene and fighting to turn the corner. "We head into the encounter having kept a clean sheet for our second consecutive game and I am happy that we have taken seven points in our last three league games." Ranieri will be without defenders Philippe Mexes and Matteo Brighi, with the former out with the flu and the latter injured. Roma have never won on Swiss soil and Basle will fancy their chances of taking a positive result at the St Jakob-Park stadium. Thorsten Fink's men will be looking to pick up where they left off in their 3-1 win over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico last month. The result lifted Basle to second in Group E, level on three points with Roma and Cluj. Basle used the victory as a launchpad for a good run in the domestic league. They claimed 3-1 wins over St Gallen and Bellinzona to climb to the top of the Swiss Super League, their position heading into Wednesday's match. Basle have rewarded Fink with a two-year contract extension that will keep him tied to the club until June 2013.
