Champions League proving why it is still the best of the best amid European

But with memories still fresh of the failed attempt by 12 clubs to form a breakaway European Super League (ESL) in April -- when some of the most powerful teams in the game unveiled proposals to create an exclusive new competition that would have killed the Champions League as we know it -- there is perhaps a sweet irony that Barcelona, one of biggest drivers of the ESL plan, are now desperately attempting to stay in a competition they were so keen to get out of.

Barca fail to beat Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena on Wednesday, they will be relying on Group E bottom club Dynamo Kiev to deny Benfica victory in Lisbon in order for Xavi Hernandez's team to have a hope of making the round of 16.

So there you have it. Mighty Barcelona, a club that has dominated the Champions League for the best part of 20 years, may end up needing a favour from one of those teams whose European future would have become so much bleaker had the ESL rebels been able to push through their hugely lucrative breakaway competition.

The last time Barcelona were absent from the knockout stages was the 2003-04 season, so their battle for Champions League survival is the headline-grabber of matchday six, but the competition has thrown up a number of other eye-catching storylines during the group stages that have teed up a fascinating final round of fixtures.