is Lionel Messi playing tonight vs Juventus? Barcelona team news for Champions League game

Barcelona host Andrea Pirlo's Juventus at the Camp Nou on Tuesday night as both the teams prepare themselves for their final Champions League Group G match. The match is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, December 8, and kick-off at 1:30 AM according to IST.  Let's have a look at the team news, potential line up, and other details building up to this thrilling fixture.

Football fans across the world can finally witness the much-awaited on-pitch battle between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as Juventus travel to Spain for tonight’s match. Even though both teams have already cemented their qualification for the knockout stages, the Barcelona vs Juventus match will see the fans relish the Messi vs Ronaldo rivalry. 

Both the teams met earlier during Matchday 2 of the ongoing UEFA Champions League campaign. However, fans could not witness the iconic duel between two of the world’s greatest ever players as Ronaldo was affected by the Covid-19 virus. However, football fans will finally be able to watch the clash of the titans in tonight’s round of UCL fixtures.

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Is Lionel Messi playing tonight? Are there any Lionel Messi Injury concerns before the Juventus match? 

As per Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman’s press conference, Ousmane Dembele joins Ansu Fati, Sergi Roberto and Gerard Pique who all remain unavailable for the game. He has also confirmed the unavailability of Samuel Umtiti whose knee injury will rule out the defender vs Juventus. 

With no Lionel Messi injury update, it is safe to assume that the Barcelona captain will start for the Spanish giants in the match. Lionel Messi returns to the starting lineup will see him play in the UCL again after being rested during Barcelona's 3-0 win against Ferencvaros.

Lionel Messi was on the scoresheet during the last meeting of both the teams. Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele netted for the touring side in the 14th minute in Turin while Lionel Messi doubled Barcelona’s lead by converting his penalty kick in the 90th minute of the game.

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Potential starting 11 (Predicted)  

Barcelona- Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Sergino Dest, Ronald Araujo, Clement Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Miralem Pjanic, Frenkie de Jong; Pedri, Lionel Messi, Philippe Coutinho; Antoine Griezmann

Juventus- Wojciech Szczesny; Juan Cuadrado, Leonardo Bonucci, Matthijs de Ligt, Alex Sandro; Dejan Kulusevski, Adrien Rabiot, Rodrigo Bentancur, Federico Chiesa; Alvaro Morata, Cristiano Ronaldo

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How to watch Barcelona vs Juventus live in India?

The Champions League live game will be telecasted on Sony Network in India. Fans can also access the Barcelona vs Juventus live stream via the Sony Live app. Users can also follow the social media channels of both the respective clubs alongside the official social media handles of the UEFA Champions League for regular match updates.

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