KIERON DYER confessed last night that he faces Champions League payback time this evening as he tries to make amends for his Camp Nou nightmare.

Dyer, 24, is still haunted by the memory of his horrendous error that gifted Barcelona victory in the first meeting between the sides in December.

Then, he made a woeful attempt at a simple goal-line clearance from Thiago Motta's header, and the ball dribbled into the net for Barca's decisive third goal in their 3-1 win.

Dyer has waited more than three months to atone for that gaffe, and with Newcastle's Champions League fate on the line tonight he is determined to set the record straight.

He said: "I owe the gaffer and the fans a massive performance.

"Of all the Champions League games, I was always looking forward to this one because I want to redeem myself for a crucial mistake at a crucial time.

"We could have still got something from the game because Shola Ameobi was a handful, but then there was my famous incident.

"Because it happened so quickly I thought it was just one of those things, and I can remember coming out of the stadium and trying to defend myself.

"But having seen the replays on TV, I let everyone associated with Newcastle United down."

Dyer goes into this evening's match adamant that Sir Bobby Robson's vibrant young Newcastle team are Champions League winners-in-waiting.

They have made huge European strides this season and stand on the brink of a quarter-final place, having opened their campaign with defeats to Dinamo Kiev, Feyenoord and Juventus.

The losses to Internazionale and Barcelona at the end of 2002 also still rankle with Dyer, who is fit again after missing last Tuesday's 2-2 draw at the San Siro with a hamstring injury.

But the England international admitted last night that some of the Newcastle players doubted they could handle the Champions League heat in September.

He said: "We went into the Champions League now knowing what to expect.

"Certain players hadn't played on that stage and we didn't have a lot of experience. You ask yourself: 'Are you good enough?'

"I think it showed in Kiev, and even though we played well against Feyenoord we lost.

"But as we've gone on, we've got stronger and stronger. We were disappointed with a draw against Inter Milan, which shows how far we've come.

"We started off by getting beat by Dinamo Kiev and Feyenoord, but I said to Craig Bellamy today that if we played them now we would pick up maximum points.

"We've got more experience now and we'll have a great chance of winning the tournament in future years.

"I think we rank alongside Inter Milan and Barcelona. It's a shame we went down to ten men so early against Inter at St James' Park, and then we lost Alan for the Barcelona game.

"I honestly believe we'd be sitting here with our destiny in our own hands if we hadn't been down to ten men against Inter and if we'd fielded our strongest side at Barcelona."

Newcastle must win tonight to stand any chance of progressing to the last eight, but an Inter victory at Bayer Leverkusen - who have lost their five Group A games - would also eliminate the Magpies.

However, Dyer was remaining upbeat on the eve of their huge match, and he said: "We're in the same situation as when we went to Feyenoord knowing we could go out, even if we won.

"But we approached that game with a perfect attitude and we won, and we'll do the same again.

"And I've got a feeling Leverkusen might just be able get a draw, and then it would be up to us to get the three points."

Gary Speed will miss tonight's match with a groin problem, which is likely to mean a recall for Laurent Robert after he shook off an ankle injury.

Jonathan Woodgate is cup-tied, so Andy O'Brien will probably partner Titus Bramble at the heart of the Newcastle defence.

Probable teams:

NEWCASTLE UNITED (4-4-2): Given; Hughes, Bramble, O'Brien, Bernard; Solano, Dyer, Jenas, Robert; Shearer, Bellamy.

BARCELONA (4-4-2): Victor Valdes; Tortolero, Christanval, Andersson, Reiziger; Mendieta, Rochemback, Motta, Iniesta; Kluivert, Garcia.