Given their poor form in the competition it is perhaps understandable that coach Frank Vercauteren is not setting his sights too high.
“We’d be happy with a point but we’re thinking positively, not negatively,” coach Frank Vercauteren said.
Vercauteren is considering recalling highly-rated defender Victor Kompany who has been suffering from a back problem.
“It’s a big decision we have to make,” he said.
“We have to think of his health and his future. He’s only young and if he plays injured that doesn’t help him or the club in the long term.”
Elsewhere, Christian Wilhelmsson will start despite an ear wound, while defenders Anthony Vanden Borre and Michal Zewlakow are also set to play.
Coach Llorenç Serra Ferrer acknowledged the match’s importance.
“It’s not quite decisive yet,” he said. “But it’s very important, especially when you consider the level of the other clubs in the group.”
Ferrer will be without midfielder Edu, striker Dani and defender Luis Fernández, and he expects a tough contest tonight.
“They’re a very physical team, a good team.,” he said.
“It’s always the side that concentrates better that wins games at this level. They know what the Champions League is about. Their players have plenty of European experience as they qualify every year.”
