Messi, Guardiola meet again
On a night when Shakhtar Donetsk host Inter, Liverpool travel to Porto, Real Madrid welcome FC Sheriff and AC Milan play Atletico Madrid, the focus will still be on the game between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City at the Parc des Princes as PSG's Lionel Messi reunites with City coach Pep Guardiola.
There was a time when a reunion between Messi and Guardiola looked distinctly possible, but on Tuesday they will be on opposite sides.
However, PSG are yet to reveal whether the six-time Ballon d'Or winner will form part of their plans for a heavyweight continental clash, but Messi has been pictured in full training.
As it turns out, things could have been very different if certain series of events took place a bit differently.
City announced the £100 million ($139m) signing of Grealish from Aston Villa on August 5, the same day Barcelona revealed Messi would not be staying at the Camp Nou.
A year ago, when Messi tried to force his departure from Catalonia, City appeared the most likely destination.
In the end Barcelona prevented the six-time Ballon d'Or winner from leaving then and 12 months later, Messi was prepared to stay put until it became clear the financial mess at the Camp Nou meant he could not.
If City had anticipated Messi becoming available, they might have moved for him. But instead they focused their sights on Grealish and were trying to sign Harry Kane, a move that ultimately didn't happen.
Meanwhile, certain members of the City squad may be hoping that Messi loses his race to be fit enough for Champions League duty on Tuesday , but Ruben Dias is not one of them as the Portuguese defender is desperate to test himself against the best.
Messi has been nursing a knee problem of late, but Dias is hoping to see the Argentine shake off that ailment and line up alongside fellow superstar forwards Neymar and Kylian Mbappe when the Premier League title holders pay a visit to the French capital.
"Whether it's Messi, Mbappe, Neymar or [Mauro] Icardi, PSG have amazing strength in depth and no matter who it is we face, it'll be a tough test. Everyone is looking forward to this game for exactly that reason," Dias said ahead of the game.
"Messi is a phenomenal player and as a professional, you want to play against all those sorts of names," Dias added.
Messi has played just three games for his new club and is yet to score. He has sat out PSG's last two matches with a knee problem but the feeling is that Mauricio Pochettino has been saving him for City.
After being held 1-1 by Club Brugge in their opening game, PSG need a positive result against City to stop their rivals taking control of their Champions League group.
Source: www.thedailystar.net
