Bouyed by the demolition of a team who have become the latest victim of their managers end of season 'motivation issues', Juande Ramos and his squad travel to Eindhoven in high spirits. Unfortunately they may need more than that to traverse the formidable obstacle that is PSV.
A place in the quarter finals awaits the winners of a match heavily weighed in favour of the Dutch side, who, courtesy of a lifeless Tottenham performance last week, hold a one goal lead going into tomorrow evening's game. Crucially, however, that one goal is an away goal.
Having been out thought by PSV last week, much more will expected both of Juande Ramos and his players. The Spaniard made a mistake in handing a clearly off the pace Gilberto his first start - particularly at left-back - and his side seemed to lack the tactical guidance to outwit well drilled opponents. For their part, the likes of Berbatov, Keane, Jenas and Lennon will all be expected to perform significantly above the standards they stumbled to last Thursday.
After last weeks disappointment it would be unrealistic to place all the blame on our own shoulders. For their part PSV were impressive. They showed intelligence and technical ability far above anything we have experienced in this year's competition and looked every bit the experienced Champions League side. That said, hopefully the result will serve as a reality check for some of our players who, not for the first time, seem all too eager to believe the hype.
Ramos' approach to the game must be tremendously positive. Simply put, we have to score at least twice to have a chance of going through. As this is the case we should set a high tempo and attempt to snatch an early goal. Losing one at the other end is not too important; giving ourselves something to build on is.
One of the main gripes emerging from the first leg was the complete lack of creativity from the midfield four. Starved of possession by a side adept at moving the ball accurately and at pace, the few opportunities we had to get the ball into the box were either wasted by poor crossing or attempts at being too intricate.
For this reason I believe that Tom Huddlestone should start alongside Didier Zokora in the heart of midfield. As he has shown throughout this season, Huddlestone provides the guile and range of passing to create goal-scoring opportunities. In short, he has the ability to place the ball exactly where Keane and Berbatov want it. As we cannot go out and simply defend, the fact that he lacks pace is less of an issue. On Sunday he proved his worth, particularly from set-pieces, and should be given the chance to unlock PSV tomorrow night.
Can we do it? In all honesty, it's unlikely. One has the feeling that PSV possess too much experience and that, given our defensive record, they are likely to score because we must play so adventurously. That said we will be buoyed by the return of Ledley King and given Ramos' record in cup competitions, you'd be foolish to write us off completely.
It's likely that Ramos holds the key for these are the occasions he relishes. A chance to mastermind yet another cup victory is a challenge he is likely to savour, particularly because it will be a triumph against poor odds. Few would argue that his side lack belief. All they need now is a positive approach and a large slice of luck, and you know what, you never know.