Manchester City's hopes of reaching the Champions League knockout round might depend on whether they manage to contain Cristiano Ronaldo on Wednesday, according to Roberto Mancini.
City need to win against Real Madrid to stand any chance of qualifying but they face a player who has a record of 165 goals in 162 appearances for his club.
City boss Mancini said: "A player that scores one or two goals a game is an incredible player.
"That's why he'll get more attention."
But the City boss insisted that his team must not be afraid to express themselves, despite describing Real as one of the world's top two teams.
"It is my opinion that Real Madrid is the best team in the world - with Barca - and when you play against Real, you play against 11 top players," he added.
"It is clear we should pay more attention in some situations but we should play our football.
"Football is fantastic because if you play against a top team like Barca and Real Madrid and you play well, you can win."
Carlos Tevez, 28, played alongside 27-year-old Ronaldo during their time at Manchester United - and he labelled his former team-mate as "very, very dangerous".
"Cristiano is one of the best players in the world and he will play in this game the way he always has done," said the Argentine City forward.
"He does not seem to feel pressure, and there will be no added pressure just because he is back in Manchester.
"Once he gets a chance to face up to you and run at you with the ball he is very, very dangerous and he strikes the ball well too."
The Premier League side have collected just two points from their first four matches. They must beat Real at the Etihad and win in the away fixture at Borussia Dortmund to have any chance of making the knockout stage.
Meanwhile, Tevez says his new-found sense of tranquillity is due to the fact his family have moved to Manchester.
The Argentine striker almost left City after a row with Mancini in a Champions League game with Bayern Munich.
He returned to help the club win the Premier League in May and says he now feels settled at the Etihad.
"A very important factor is that I have my family here with me in Manchester, which makes me very happy," he said.
"I have changed my outlook on life in general really.
"I am not worrying about the things I used to worry about and I am just concentrating on enjoying my game and enjoying my time out on the field."
Now the forward faces one of his biggest challenges by taking the lead for City as they attempt to rescue their Champions League hopes.
He added: "It is all about the team working together as a whole. I would not want to put more pressure on myself to think that it is me going to make the difference.
"It is all about working together and if we are going to win this game, it will be a group effort.
"The problem has been, it is a really tough group - possibly the toughest in this year's Champions League and we have come up against some difficult opponents.
"That is no excuse for not picking up enough points and now we have to turn that around."
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Source: BBC
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