Thomas Tuchel expects Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to produce his very best form when Borussia Dortmund take on Real Madrid on Wednesday.
The Gabon international has said on a number of occasions that he would relish the chance to play for the reigning European champions, having promised his grandfather that he would one day make the move.
"Aubameyang is a great player. He makes the side better, he makes me better and we can't achieve our objectives without him," the Dortmund boss told a media conference.
"He's a quality player. All players would love to play in the best sides in the world, and one of those clubs in Real Madrid. It's always a pressure to play at the Santiago Bernabeu and he likes pressure and it often brings the best out in him."
"The important thing of being first in the group is to prove you deserve to be first," he said. "The confidence of winning or drawing here at this level, with this atmosphere... that is the value of winning group.
"It is not an advantage for the next round from my point of view, more an advantage for our growth.
"When you focus solely on the result many unforeseen things can happen. We know how things are, we have the possibility to play with no pressure thanks to the starting point we have. We know we can play to win, to draw, even losing we go through to the next round. It will be a good match to measure our level, to keep on growing and improving."
"Marco has a cold. He is not 100 per cent - we have to bear that in mind," Tuchel explained. "At midday [on Wednesday], I will make that decision. The best thing would be for him to start. He is an exceptional player.
"Raphael has always been decisive in important moments. It is very difficult for us to replace him. We need to find solutions that are not obvious.
"We are really going to miss him, the problem comes from a muscle injury with his national team. We felt he might be able to return to train on Sunday, but he didn't feel so good."
