German giants Bayern Munich come face to face with Ukraine champions Shakhtar Donetsk in the second leg round of 16 of the Champions League at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.
The Bundesliga side were expected to easily triumph in the first leg, but they were surprisingly held in a goal-less draw against Shakhtar at the Arena Lviv.
Although they managed to create eight chances in the game, Bayern, who were reduced to 10 men, following Xavi Alonso's sending off, were only able to trouble goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov on one occasion, when he was forced into a save by Rafinha in the very first minute of the game.
Since that game, the Bavarians have been in fine form, recording four wins in their last four fixtures. Due to this reason, Bayern Munich are expected to beat the Ukrainian side in the second leg.
And Bayern boss Pep Guardiola says that he is very optimistic about his side's chances in the second leg despite admitting that Shakhtar are a very formidable opponent with a "lot of quality."
"I am very optimistic. I have always said we would win this tie and that feeling has not altered," the former Bayern Munich boss told UEFA's official website.
"Donetsk have a lot of quality. They have players who could play here in Germany and if Shakhtar played in the Bundesliga they would be among the title favourites. Their style of play, with fast counterattacks and a lot of individual quality, is really impressive."
"We have to win; we know that. Lose and our Champions League campaign is over; even a score draw. Donetsk are a strong team and they deserve to go through to the quarter-finals. Unfortunately, only one of us can go through and I am confident it will be us. We have not practised penalties!"
Meanwhile, Shakhtar also be fancying their chances of reaching the last eight of the Champions League despite them being the clear underdogs in the second leg at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.
However, Mircea Lucescu despite admitting that Bayern are a very good team, insists that the "better team doesn't always win."
"Bayern have many very good players and are one of the best teams in Europe. But the better team doesn't always win," Lucescu told UEFA's official website.
"Bayern are top quality. What Guardiola is doing here is impressive. They really play very nice football. I have not met many coaches with such quality. We have known each other a long time and there won't be many surprises between us. But you never know; anything can happen."
Expected line-ups
Bayern: Neuer; Rafinha, Boateng, Badstuber, Bernat; Schweinsteiger, Alaba; Robben, Müller, Ribéry; Lewandowski.
Shakhtar: Pyatov; Srna, Kucher, Rakitskiy, Shevchuk; Stepanenko; Douglas Costa, Fernando, Alex Teixeira, Taison; Luiz Adriano.
Where to Watch Live
The game is scheduled for a 8:45pm GMT (1:15am IST, 2:45pm ET) start, with live coverage on Ten Sports in India. The match can also be watched via live streaming online on Ten Sports Live.
Catch the action in the UK live on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 1 HD, with an option to live stream the match online on Sky GO. The US viewers can watch the game live on Fox Sports 2 or online on Fox Soccer 2Go. Audience in Canada can see the tie via live stream on Sportsnet World.
Viewers in the Middle East and North Africa can watch the match via live streaming online onbeIN Sports Connect, while South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa viewers can do the same on SuperSport online.
