Bayern Munich travel to Ukraine to take on Shakhtar Donetsk in the round of sixteen of the Champions League at the Arena Lviv on Tuesday.
Since their 1-4 shock defeat to Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga on 30 January, the Bavarians have made a good comeback, beating the likes of Stuttgart and Hamburg following a 1-1 draw against Schalke.
Bayern Munich's performance in their last fixture was especially impressive as they beat Hamburg 8-0 courtesy of braces from Thomas Muller, Mario Gotze and Arjen Robben.
Considering their form of late, Bayern are expected to beat Shakhtar, but manager Pep Guardiola insists that Ukrainian side are one of the "best teams in Europe."
"I respect Shakhtar and Mircea Lucescu a lot. He is a very clever coach who has put together one of the best teams in Europe," the former Barcelona boss told UEFA's official website.
"I played against Shakhtar five times with Barcelona and although we had a really amazing squad it was always difficult. You may remember the UEFA Super Cup when we scored only in extra time. Once we were defeated at home by Shakhtar."
The Spaniard feels that his side can be eliminated from the Champions League if they are not at their best against Shakhtar.
"If we play below our level we can be knocked out by Shakhtar," added Guardiola. "They have a great striker in Luiz Adriano. Douglas Costa, Marlos, Taison, Alex Teixeira are all great players. And I have special words for their captain Darijo Srna. I have watched him a lot for club and country. He would be a talisman in any team in the world."
Meanwhile, Shakhtar will also be hoping to beat Bayern and gain an advantage in the first leg of the round of 16.
Shakhtar have been pretty impressive in the Ukrainian Premier League, winning three consecutive games against Karpaty Lviv, Metalurh Zaporizhya and Hoverla Uzhhorod.
They also have been pretty dominant in these three games, scoring 10 goals and conceding only one.
However, as Shakhtar have not played a competitive fixture since 5 December (due to the ongoing civil unrest in Ukraine), they are not currently in the best of forms.
And Shakhtar boss Mircea Lucescu feels that this makes Bayern the favourites to progress to the next round of the Champions League.
"Our last competitive game was ten weeks ago, and you all know about the conditions we have been working under this season," Lucescu told UEFA's official website. "
"Almost everyone will tell you that Bayern are going through, especially after their 8-0 win in the last league match. Bayern are clear favourites. They are one of the best teams in the world with a great coach who loves his work very much."
Possible starting lineups:
Shakhtar Donetsk: Pyatov; Srna, Ordets, Rakitskiy, Shevchuk; Teixeira, Bernard, Costa, Fernando; Adriano, Taison
Bayern Munich: Neuer; Bernat, Benatia, Boateng, Rafinha; Schweinsteiger, Alaba, Muller, Robben, Ribery; Lewandowski
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 5, with an option to live stream the match online on Sky GO. 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 on beIN Sports Connect, while South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa viewers can do the same on SuperSport online.
