Manchester City cannot afford another defeat today at home to Barcelona, who beat them 4-0 two weeks ago, having taken just one point from their last two UEFA Champions League Group C matches.
That third successive win for the Catalan pass-masters means they need only a draw in the return game to ensure their annual qualification for the knockout stage.
City, however, are in danger of losing second place in the table to Borussia Moenchengladbach, who sit one point behind them going into a home tie with Celtic.
Although they beat Borussia
4-0, Pep Guardiola’s side still have to travel to Germany for a game that could decide which team qualifies with Barca.
Former Barca coach Guardiola was as chastened after the Nou Camp loss, when Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick and City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was sent off, as he was on a previous return there, which resulted in a 3-0 loss for his Bayern Munich team in the 2015 semi-final.
At least, Bayern recovered some self-respect by winning the second leg 3-2 on that occasion and a repeat would suit him perfectly.
Achieving it would also be a historic result for the Premier League leaders, who have lost all five previous meetings between the clubs.
They ended a run of six matches without a win in emphatic fashion on Saturday, romping to a 4-0 success at West Brom, where Sergio Aguero and Ilkay Gundogan both scored twice.
Aguero was surprisingly left out of the game at the Nou Camp, but Guardiola will need him at his best tonight.
“Aguero is a special player, we need him a lot,” the manager told reporters yesterday.
“He is one of the best. I am going to help him to be much, much better.”
While City will believe they can make inroads into a makeshift defence still missing Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba and Aleix Vidal, there will be greater concern about how their own back-line will cope with the dazzling trident of Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.
That may well prove to be the key to the contest.
Group A
Playing today (20.45)
Basel vs Paris Saint Germain
Ludogorets vs Arsenal
Already played
Arsenal vs Ludogorets - 6-0
Paris SG vs Basel - 3-0
Ludogorets vs Paris SG - 1-3
Arsenal vs Basel - 2-0
Paris SG vs Arsenal - 1-1
Basel vs Ludogorets - 1-1
23/11/16: Arsenal vs Paris SG
23/11/16: Ludogorets vs Basel
06/12/16: Paris SG vs Ludogorets
06/12/16: Basel vs Arsenal
Group B
Playing today
Besiktas vs Napoli - 18.45
Benfica vs Dynamo Kiev - 20.45
Already played
Napoli vs Besiktas - 2-3
Dynamo Kiev vs Benfica - 0-2
Besiktas vs Dynamo Kiev - 1-1
Napoli vs Benfica - 4-2
Dynamo Kiev vs Napoli - 1-2
Benfica vs Besiktas - 1-1
23/11/16: Napoli vs Dynamo Kiev
23/11/16: Besiktas vs Benfica
06/12/16: Dynamo Kiev vs Besiktas
06/12/16: Benfica vs Napoli
Group C
Playing today (20.45)
Bor. M’gladbach vs Celtic
Manchester City vs Barcelona
Already played
Celtic vs Bor. M’gladbach - 0-2
Barcelona vs Man. City - 4-0
Bor. M’gladbach vs Barcelona - 1-2
Celtic vs Manchester City - 3-3
Barcelona vs Celtic - 7-0
Man. City vs Bor. M’gladbach - 4-0
23/11/16: Celtic vs Barcelona
23/11/16: B. M’gladbach vs Man. City
06/12/16: Barcelona vs B. M’gladbach 06/12/16 Man. City vs Celtic
Group D
Playing today (20.45)
Atletico Madrid vs FC Rostov
PSV vs Bayern Munich
Already played
FC Rostov vs Atletico Madrid - 0-1
Bayern Munich vs PSV - 4-1
Atletico Madrid vs B. Munich - 1-0
FC Rostov vs PSV Eindhoven - 2-2
Bayern Munich vs FC Rostov - 5-0
PSV vs Atletico Madrid - 0-1
23/11/16: FC Rostov vs B. Munich
23/11/16: Atletico Madrid vs PSV
06/12/16: B. Munich vs Atl. Madrid
06/12/16: PSV vs FC Rostov
Tomorrow
Group E
Monaco vs CSKA Moscow
Tottenham vs B. Leverkusen
Standings: Monaco 5; Tottenham 4; B. Leverkusen 3; CSKA 2.
Group F
B. Dortmund vs Sporting
Legia Warsaw vs Real Madrid
Standings: B. Dortmund, Real Madrid 7; Sporting 3; L. Warsaw 0.
Group G
Copenhagen vs Leicester City
FC Porto vs Club Bruges
Standings: Leicester 9; Copenhagen, FC Porto 4; Club Bruges 0.
Group H
Juventus vs Lyon
Sevilla vs Dinamo Zagreb
Standings: Juventus, Sevilla 7; Lyon 3; Dinamo Zagreb 0.