[left]Barcelona will need to produce the greatest Champions League comeback in history when they host Bayern Munich in the return leg of their semi-final at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.
Bayern dominated at the Allianz Arena last week on their way to a resounding 4-0 victory over the Catalans, and will be confident of protecting their advantage as no team has overturned a four-goal first-leg deficit in the European Cup.
Jupp Heynckes' men are on an incredible run of form after winning 21 of their last 22 games in all competitions, and boast the most prolific attack in the Champions League this season, having banged in 26 goals in total and will hope to set up a final meeting with Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund.
Barcelona, however, are not to be written off as they have won their last 10 home games against German opposition, and their pedigree in Europe in recent years suggests they have what it takes to pull off the unlikeliest of comebacks.
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Barcelona v Bay Munich
May 1, 2013 7:00pm
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The Blaugrana's success largely depends on the fitness of Lionel Messi, who was anonymous in the first leg but came off the bench to score one and provide an assist in the 2-2 draw with Athletic Bilbao at the weekend.
Coach Tito Vilanova insists his players have not yet given up hope of sending Barcelona to a third Champions League final in five years.
"We are Barca and we cannot give up on a tie, there are still 90 minutes left," Vilanova said. "I don't think Bayern believe it is over either though they are better off than we are.
"If we lose, at least we have to do it with our heads held high and playing on until the end of the match, not throwing in the towel and making our fans proud of us."
Centre back Gerard Pique added: "It is a day when we should all become kids again to be as excited and hopeful as they are and lose our common sense a little bit. That might get us through, but it is very difficult."
Bayern will be aiming to set up an all-German final at Wembley and Heynckes is determined not to abandon the attitude he has developed at the club, and insists they will not merely sit back and defend their first-leg advantage.
"We have to take into account the rival. We have our philosophy on football and this season we have proved that Bayern is a great team playing top quality football," he said.
"We have our culture and we are capable of scoring goals at the Camp Nou. We can't think too much about the first-leg result. After the match we can evaluate things, but I cannot say which team is the better one.
"Barcelona have played at such a high level for so many years. Bayern want to prove that the match in Munich wasn't a one-off."
