Despite attempting to put on a brave face, Barcelona players and fans are -try as they may to hide it- nervous. Scared. Worried. Many-a-word could describe the sheer fear being felt among the Blaugrana faithful. Rubin Kazan pose a threat, they have beaten Barcelona once, Barcelona are playing in the snow, almost every player in the team has never played in snow before, a ‘crisis’ is apparently taking place and poor results are issuing from Barcelona like blood from a wounded animal.

‘Cules’ are thinking to themselves, a loss could well be on the cards for this game, we have to accept that, but what does that mean?

It is expected that, despite a disappointing draw, Inter Milan will win in Ukraine against Dynamo Kiev. Should Barcelona lose against Rubin Kazan this would put Kazan top of Group F with 7 points and Inter second with 6, effectively knocking Barca out of the top two.

Barcelona would then face Inter at the Camp Nou, a match that Barcelona would be expected to win (that is of course assuming they have overcome their ‘slump’ by then) Rubin Kazan would at the same time be facing Dynamo at home, with the Russians likely to dominate the encounter. These results would see Barcelona move back up into the top 2 with 7 points, as Rubin continue to cruise with 10.

The final match day in the group stage could be dead rubber for the Russians as it is likely they would have already qualified and will face Inter Milan at the San Siro whilst the Catalonians face Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine.

Although unlikely, Rubin Kazan would prefer facing Inter Milan later on in the Champions League than the Blaugrana, which may affect the manner in which they approach the match against the Italian Champions. Should Inter win, it would mean Barcelona would be in a position in which a draw or loss would result in the ultimate punishment.

Also, it needs to be taken into consideration that should Inter Milan down Barcelona in the Camp Nou, it would be all but over for the Blaugrana, as Kazan and Inter would top the tables with 10 & 9 points respectively, as Barcelona would crumble to a mere 4.

However the negative vibes need to cease to exist. A win at Rubin would turn the tables completely, as Barcelona would skyrocket themselves into a neat position at the top of Group F, meaning they could even afford to draw against Inter Milan.

The game of predicting results and adding up tallies offers one infinite possibilities, with results and match-ups needing to be analysed as well as taking into thought the results of other games, the whole process can become quite sticky.

In black and white, Barcelona need a win tonight, for a loss could see the club fail to qualify from the group stage for the first time in almost 10 years.

Let us hope for the best.

Visca El Barca!