Manuel Pellegrini believes that tomorrow night's Champions League last-16 second-leg tie against Barcelona provides Manchester City with a chance to prove that they are among the best sides in Europe.

The Citizens trail 2-1 heading into the Camp Nou showdown, meaning that they must score two unanswered goals against the Catalan giants if they are to advance into the quarter-final stage of the showpiece competition for the first time.

Despite the odds being largely stacked against his side, Pellegrini remains confident that the Premier League champions can spring a surprise.

"This is a good chance for us," the Chilean is quoted as saying by Goal.com. "Last year, if we had played against another team [other than Barcelona] in the last 16 then we might have gone through.

"It's a good opportunity to prove we are one of the best teams in Europe and the only way to do that is to beat big teams like Barcelona. We all know Barcelona. We all know Messi is playing well.

"All of their players are dangerous but we need to go out there and try to score first. We want to be in the quarter-finals so we will go out there and try to win."

Barcelona have won their last five games in the Champions League.