Manchester City host Dynamo Kiev in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday evening knowing that only a heavy defeat will prevent them from taking their place in the last eight of the competition.
Kiev have the quality in their ranks to cause a surprise but they have regularly under-performed on their trips to England since the turn of the millennium, and Serhiy Rebrov is aware of the task that faces his team as they look to overturn a 3-1 deficit.
Manchester City
© Getty Images
When Manchester City fell to a 2-1 defeat to Juventus in their opening game, Manuel Pellegrini must have feared that his side's Champions League misery was going to continue for another 12 months, but they deserve huge credit for turning things around to move to the brink of a first appearance in the quarter-finals of the competition.
They still have major improvements to make at the Etihad given that they are prone to conceding early goals against European opposition at Eastlands, but five wins from six outings against a solid calibre of teams bodes well for the future.
When they take to the pitch on Tuesday night, however, they will need to put the frustration of Saturday's goalless draw with Norwich City behind them. They were poor during that game and were lucky to escape with a point, and with Leicester having gone clear at the top of the Premier League table, the Champions League is arguably their best chance of silverware.
Pellegrini will be hoping that striker Sergio Aguero can get back on the goal trail after missing a couple of decent chances at the weekend. The Argentine has scored 12 times since the turn of the year, but he has only netted in two of his last six matches.
The return of Yaya Toure is a big plus for City. After his performance in the 3-1 win in Kiev, he has earned the right to be used behind the main striker, rather than in a central-midfield position, and he will be eager to show his manager that is his best place in the side for the remaining weeks of the season.
Recent form: WLLLWD
Recent form (all competitions): LWDLWD
Dynamo Kiev
© Getty Images
With Andriy Yarmolenko in their ranks, Dynamo Kiev are capable of pulling off a shock result at the Etihad Stadium, but if they are to qualify for the last eight, they will have to do something that they have not managed this millennium.
Kiev have not won on their last 10 visits to England, with their matches ranging from fixtures with Manchester United and Arsenal in the Champions League to Everton and Stoke City in the Europa League.
In some cases, they may have opted for defensive tactics in order to secure a draw but tonight, they must come out firing and looking for goals, with three being required to give them any kind of chance of continuing their participation in the competition.
In the first leg, they were hindered by playing their first competitive match since December 9. They looked off the pace and City took full advantage, but since that game, they have won two domestic contests and they should at least be sharper with and without the ball.
Rebrov will point to their away results in the group stages to convince his team that the tie is not over. While they lost 2-1 to Chelsea, it took an own goal and a late free kick from Willian to deny them anything from that game, and they recorded 2-0 wins away at both Porto and Maccabi Tel Aviv earlier in the campaign.
City have shown in the past that the Etihad is not such a fortress in Europe and that will encourage Kiev, but they cannot afford a slow start or else the tie will effectively be over.
Recent form: WWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWLWW
Team News
© Getty Images
Toure has been declared fit for Manchester City after he missed the match at Norwich City, and he is expected to take his place in the starting lineup.
He could be recalled at the expense of Wilfried Bony, although Raheem Sterling is also pushing for a start after being left on the bench in recent matches.
Pellegrini could decide to include both men, with Jesus Navas's role on the right flank also coming under threat.
As for Kiev, Defender Danilo Silva is a doubt for the match in the North-West with a muscle problem.
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Otamendi, Clichy, Fernando, Fernandinho, Toure, Sterling, Silva, Aguero
Dynamo Kiev possible starting lineup:
Shovkovskiy, Vida, Dragovic, Khacheridi, Antunes, Veloso, Buyalskiy, Garmash, Gusev, Yarmolenko, Teodorczyk
Head To Head
Tonight's match will represent just the fourth time that the two clubs have met in a competitive fixture.
As well as the first leg in Ukraine last month, they also faced each other in the 2010-11 Europa League, with both teams emerging victorious at their home ground.
However, it was Kiev who prevailed on aggregate, with their 2-0 victory in Kiev proving better than City's 1-0 success in Manchester.
We say: Manchester City 2-1 Dynamo Kiev
City have been inconsistent of late and although they hold a commanding lead, we do not expect them to make it easy for themselves this evening. We think Kiev will be fast out of the blocks, but City should have the fire-power in attack to score the goals that would put the tie out of their opponents' reach.
Darren Plant
