By Tim Hanlon, PA International, Barcelona
All of the air will escape from Barcelona's hot-air balloon if they crash out of the Champions League on Tuesday.
Quarter-final opponents Juventus are streaking towards a second successive Scudetto but Barca, mid-table in the Primera Liga and out of the Copa del Rey, must win to stay in the hunt for a trophy this season.
Winning the Champions League is also crucial because that is the only way Barca will play in the lucrative competition next year.
"I have spoken with my players and I have told them that Tuesday is D-Day," said Barcelona coach Raddy Antic.
Antic's men are all square 1-1 with the Turin side after the first-leg thanks to Javier Saviola's away goal.
The Azulgrana go into the match buoyed by an impressive 1-1 draw with bitter rivals and La Liga leaders Real Madrid at the weekend
Thiago Motta particularly stood out in midfield against Zinedine Zidane and Barca will see themselves unlucky to have only drawn after a Gaizka Mendieta goal was unjustly ruled off-side.
Antic said that Saturday's result, which brought to an end a run of two straight defeats in the league, is an important morale booster.
"We needed the reaction which we produced and now it will be a lot easier for us to prepare for Tuesday," the Serbo-Montenegrin said.
"We must be conscious that this will be a big final. I am sure that our play in Madrid is significant, we have to all be united to get the victory as the rewards are extremely high.
"What we do now before the game will pay dividends against Juventus. We must concentrate and make the most of the training."
Antic says that the Mendieta decision was just another bad call in a long line of officiating mistakes which have plagued Barcelona this year.
"We believe we have been dealt with unjustly in the derby but that is now in the past and we are now thinking about what is to come," he said, adding that Saviola, who was suspended for the Madrid clash, will return to the side and will play up front with Patrick Kluivert.
Juan Roman Riquelme is likely to be on the bench after failing to make an impression after coming on as a late substitute against Madrid.
The Argentine made public his problems at being played out of position last week and Antic hit back saying the team needs to stick together.
"I read the comments by Riquelme and as always I look at what he is doing now and what he has done in the past," he said, "first I wanted continuity and now it can be seen he is not playing well and has problems in his position.
"I don't want these things to break the group, I want to see him to perform at his best but he must play his part."
Antic will employ a four-man defence with Xavi and Motta sitting just in front of the backline.
Gabri is suspended while defender Juan Pablo Sorin, who played for Lazio earlier in the competition, will only be a spectator.
Antic will insert Michael Reiziger at left back and withdraw Gaizka Mendieta to right back. Luis Enrique, outstanding against Madrid and the scorer of Barca's goal, will line up on the right side of midfield with the pacy Marc Overmars on the left.
As Antic announced Javier Saviola, having not played against Madrid, will return to the side and play just behind Patrick Kluivert who will lead the attack.
Juve are aiming to restore the image of Italian football.
Historically Juve have a mighty task - their last win on Spanish soil was 33 years ago when they beat, of all teams, Barcelona.
And they also travel to the Catalan capital knowing Barca have a vital away goal courtesy of Saviola's equaliser.
But Lippi was delighted with his team's 2-1 win over Roma in Serie A on Saturday and believes they are ready to take on Barca in their Nou Camp fortress, an arena he has never visited competitively despite a long career as a top-flight coach.
"I am satisfied. I have seen the Juve that I like: focused, determined, humble and precise," said Lippi on the club's official website,
www.juventus.it
"We arrive in Barcelona with a lot of faith in our play, also thanks to the strikers that are playing well. I think that we can score a goal in Spain and if it ends 2-2 we can still qualify," said Lippi.
Saturday's win has given extra belief to a team leading the Italian campaign for greater success on the European stage after a relatively lean spell.
No Italian team has won the Champions League since Juve in 1995-6, while the UEFA Cup has eluded Italian clutches since Parma triumphed in 1999.
In fact, Lippi's team were also the last Serie A team to even reach the semi-finals of the Champions League when they were knocked out by Manchester United in 1999 during Lippi's first spell in charge.
While Juve have an arduous task at the Nou Camp, Inter and AC Milan also have difficult assignments if they are to reach the last four.
The Nerazzurri travel to play Valencia at the Mestalla stadium with a 1-0 lead from the first leg and AC Milan host Ajax Amsterdam at the San Siro after a goalless draw at the ArenA two weeks ago.
But it is Juve who lead the way as reigning Italian champions and current Serie A leaders, and Barca will provide unpredictable opposition.
The Spaniards have yet to taste defeat in Europe this season and they have the support of home fans starved of domestic success, making them narrow favourites.
But Barcelona's Primera Liga season has been appalling, and they are a lowly 12th on the table.
That is in sharp contrast to the Bianconeri's status as prime contenders to lift the Italian title for a second successive year - and the 27th time in their history.
Alessandro Del Piero struck twice in the win over Roma and Lippi's team now have a six-point lead over second-placed Inter Milan with five matches left to play.
Lippi will not have the services of French striker David Trezeguet who has not travelled with the team because he is still recovering from a shoulder injury he picked up on April 12.
But the good news is the recovery of Czech playmaker Pavel Nedved from a foot injury and he will take his place in the starting line-up.
Lippi is set to introduce Marco Di Vaio as a second striker alongside Del Piero, dropping midfielder Igor Tudor to the bench and changing the tactical approach as a result.
Del Piero is the club's top scorer in the Serie A this season while Di Vaio has only just come back from an ankle injury.
A Juve win or a 2-2 draw will place Juve in the semi-finals of the Champions League after a wait of four years.
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