Manchester City know even a win against formidable Borussia Dortmund might not be good enough to earn themselves a spot in the Europa League, having already ended their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages in the Champions League.
City are rock bottom in Group D on three points from five games, with Ajax on four points, meaning the English Premier League champions need to win and hope Real Madrid do them a favor against Ajax.
Both teams are looking to qualify for the Europa League by finishing third, with Dortmund and Real Madrid already having progressed to the next round in the Champions League.
"In the Europa League you play on Thursdays, so that's a bit tricky, but we still want to make it and will try everything to go through and then go as far as possible there," City manager Roberto Mancini said.
"We are disappointed because we wanted to reach the second round. But I believe that there are times when there are teams in football that are better than you and you have to respect that. We have to accept that Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid played better than we did and we'll have to try again next season. But it was not an embarrassment."
Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp said he would put out a strong side, despite already sealing top spot in Group D. "Sometimes in the Champions League clubs tend to rest players when they are through," he said. We hadn't qualified for a long time and we will not do that.
"For sure, we will bring in some fresh players, but against City you have to play at a high pace if you want to win. We will make some changes. Moritz Leitner, for example, will start."
City will be without David Silva, while Yaya Toure will be given a rest. Neven Subotic, Sebastian Kehl and Sven Bender are definitely out for Dortmund, while Gotze and Lukasz Piszczek are doubtful.
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Expected lineups: Dortmund: Weidenfeller; Piszczek, Hummels, Santana, Schmelzer; Gundogan, Leitner; Blaszczykowski, Perisic, Reus; Lewandowski.
Manchester City: Hart; Maicon, Lescott, Kompany, Zabaleta; Garcia, Barry, Sinclair, Nasri; Tevez, Balotelli.
Prediction: 2-1 to Dortmund
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