Pablo Zabaleta said Manchester City deserve to be eliminated from the Champions League if they cannot beat Roma in Italy.
City visit the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday as one of three teams tied on five points, along with Roma and CSKA Moscow, in a group that Bayern Munich have already won.
City did not win in their first four group games before defeating Bayern 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium and Roma are unbeaten at home in Serie A this season but right-back Zabaleta accepts City cannot complain about elimination if they do not win in the Italian capital.
"Of course," he said. "I think we have a team, we have the players to beat Rome and obviously if we don't beat them and we don't go through, it would be bad for the team."
While they are struggling with injuries, City have won their last five games, which is their best run of the season.
And Zabaleta added: "Confidence is high at the moment and that is what we need to play against Roma and win the game. We know it's a crucial game in the Champions League to go through to the next round."
Defender Zabaleta believes the game is given added spice because Roma have a similar chance to reach the last 16.
He explained: "Rome is always a very difficult place to go and win. They have a very good team and they're second in the Italian league.
"It will be a great atmosphere in Rome, particularly for this game because they're on the same points and for them to go through would be massive."
The Argentina international admitted City were taken aback by their poor performance in the 2-1 home defeat to CSKA, which left them with just two points from four games.
He added: "When we lost against CSKA Moscow at home it was terrible for the team. It was very confusing about what was going on with the team. It was a game we didn't expect to lose. It is different now. At least we have three more points to go to Rome.
"But this group has been a little bit crazy. Roma conceded a goal in the last minute to Moscow which was a great result for us and everything is open now. Even CSKA have a chance to go through. We are talking about City and Roma, but CSKA have a chance."
City have only reached the last 16 of the Champions League once and, for the third time in four years, they have been drawn in a pool branded "the Group of Death."
And Zabaleta said: "It is true that the draw has always been difficult for us and we are a team that are learning about a lot of things and the Champions League is that competition where you play against the best teams from Europe and if you make mistakes you are out of it.
"I think Rome is a crucial game for us to show that we want to continue in that competition and we want to go far."