Manchester City need a minor miracle against Bayern Munich on Wednesday and it wouldn't be a massive shock if they failed under the weight of expectation.
Manchester City's 2-1 defeat to Napoli a fortnight ago has more or less ended Roberto Martinez's side's chances of reaching the last 16 in their first season in the Champions League. The Citizens must now beat Bayern Munich on Wednesday and hope that Villarreal can take a point from Napoli.
It is unlikely that the Spaniards will be able to do anything to help the English Premier League leaders but even if they can, City may not be able to uphold their end of the bargain. In the furore over Carlos Tevez's refusal to leave the bench in Munich it was forgotten that Bayern comprehensively out-played their opponents and were head and shoulders above Manchester City.
The Light Blues may be dominating the Premier League but they are still fragile in defence. This has been evident in a number of recent matches and one clean sheet (against Arsenal's reserves) in six matches is hardly the kind of form that you would want ahead of a meeting with one of Europe's best attacking sides.
Bayern have genuine ambitions of winning the Champions League this season and they will look to send a message to their rivals by winning in Manchester.