Manchester City vs. Ajax: English Club Faces Must-Win Champions League Match

Manchester City faces a must-win Champions League match on Tuesday when they host Ajax at the Etihad Stadium.

Ajax's 3-1 victory over the Premier League champions on Matchday 3 sank City to the bottom of the "Group of Death," with games against Real Madrid and group leader Borussia Dortmund still remaining before the group stage concludes.

Frustration surrounding the English club increased to another level this weekend when West Ham and City played to a scoreless draw at Upton Park.

City have scored just four goals in their last four games in all competitions despite not playing any elite clubs in that span.

As they enter another important European match, City will need a lot of help if they are to qualify for the knockout stage of the Champions League.

Here are the current standings for Group D:

Place	Club	W	D	L	PTS
1st	Borussia Dortmund	2	1	0	7
2nd	Real Madrid	2	0	1	6
3rd	Ajax	1	0	2	3
4th	Manchester City	0	1	2	1

The highest amount of points that City can finish with is 10, which is what they had last year, and it wasn't good enough to clinch a berth into the Round of 16. Roberto Mancini's men have to take three points from their next match to have any hope of making the next round.

They will hope that the teams ahead of them draw most of their remaining games, but the chances that this scenario happens are pretty slim.

Manchester City must show some real mental toughness this month because their remaining opponents in all competitions in November are Ajax, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Tottenham and Wigan Athletic.

Those are some talented teams, and for City to earn the best possible results in these matches, they must be mentally focused.

Silly mistakes are costing City in many of their defeats, and to win against the best teams in the Champions League, you cannot make mental errors and expect to survive.

For City to earn some much-needed confidence as we head into the final weeks of 2012, they must defeat Ajax in Tuesday's Champions League showdown at home.

If the defending Premier League champs lose this game, major changes at the club will have to be made.