Gross hopes Black Forest walks can inspire Basle

Without a point from their first two games in Group C, Basle have no margin for error when they host Barcelona in the Champions League tonight. "It's difficult," said their coach, Christian Gross, "but we have a chance against any team."

Gross has sought inspiration in Germany to prepare his players for the match. The coach has taken his squad across the Rhine river to set up training camp in the Black Forest resort of Saig. "We have always had a positive result when we have come here," he said.

Having scored for the first time since his return from an injury picked up at Euro 2008 in June, the Switzerland striker Marco Streller is likely to be paired in attack at St Jakob-Park with his Switzerland teammate Eren Derdiyok.

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Barcelona arrived in Switzerland after a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday and are fourth in La Liga. Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o got the second-half goal. Their coach, Pep Guardiola, has included Mexican defender Rafael Marquez and Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Touré in a 19-man squad. Influential midfielder Xavi Hernandez returns after being rested with a hamstring problem, though midfielder Seydou Keita is unavailable: the Mali international sustained a calf injury in Bilbao.

In Liverpool's group, D, PSV Eindhoven and Marseilles meet in the Netherlands with both teams desperate for a first win to kick-start their campaigns. "The match against PSV is our last chance," said the Marseilles coach, Erik Gerets. "We will exit the competition if we draw. We have to win."

The PSV coach, Huub Stevens, is in the same position. "We have to play to our strengths," he said. "We have to win tomorrow if we want to progress."

Gerets knows his opponents well. As PSV coach, he won successive Dutch championships in 2000 and 2001 and, as a player, Gerets was part of the PSV team that won the European Cup in 1988.

Another Eindhoven old boy is Barcelona's Boudewijn Zenden, who made 109 appearances for PSV before joining Barcelona in 1998. "We cannot afford to lose," Zenden said. "The next two games will determine how far we will go in the competition."