Manuel Pellegrini believes beating Barcelona can prove that Manchester City are still one of the best sides in Europe.
The reigning Premier League champions meet the Catalan giants at Camp Nou on Wednesday night requiring victory over to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
City were beaten 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium by Luis Enrique's Blaugrana in the Round of 16 first leg late last month and Pellegrini is hoping they can turn the tables on some poor recent form by knocking off the Spanish powerhouse who have an in-form Lionel Messi at their disposal.
"This is a good chance for us. Last year, if we had played against another team [other than Barcelona] in the last 16 then we might have gone through," the Chilean told reporters.
"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."
