Nothing to lose, Man City's Silva says of Barcelona challenge

David Silva believes Manchester City have nothing to lose as they head into Wednesday's crunch Champions League showdown at Barcelona.

City hit a new low on Saturday as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat at relegation battlers Burnley to all but relinquish their grip on the Barclays Premier League trophy.

They could find salvation in the Champions League but it would require one of the club's greatest results as they head to the Nou Camp needing to overturn a 2-1 deficit to reach the quarter-finals.

It seems an unlikely prospect but Spain international Silva has not given up hope and has taken heart from events which took place in two of the last-16 games played last week.

The 29-year-old said: "Everybody wrote Schalke off before they played Real Madrid but they won 4-3 and could have scored again which would have put them through - nobody predicted that.

"Not many thought PSG could beat Chelsea, especially with only 10 men for so long, so I know that everything can happen, not only in the Champions League but in every game.

"Everyone is expecting Barca to go through but hopefully we can give a strong performance and we don't have any kind of pressure on us because we are behind and playing away."

City - beaten by Barcelona at the same stage last season - have defied the odds in the Champions League already this season after recovering from a dreadful position in the group phase to reach the knockout rounds.

Defeat to CSKA Moscow at the Etihad Stadium in November left them with just two points from four games but brilliant victories over Bayern Munich and Roma sent them through.

Silva said: "We need this kind of mentality we showed in those games.

"The most important thing is not to concede a goal because obviously things then become more difficult.

"We played well in the second leg against Barca last season and played with freedom so we will see."

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