Pep Guardiola hopes Messi will finish his career at Barcelona

During a press conference in preparation for Manchester Citys clash against Pep Guardiolas old club Barcelona, the Man City manager reinforced his admiration for Lionel Messi. The Argentine scored on his return from a groin injury that had kept him out for more than three weeks, and will likely play in the Champions League clash on 19 October.

Barcelona will look to make it three wins out of three in Champions League Group C when they host Pep Guardiolas Manchester City at Camp Nou on 19 October.

Where to watch live

Kick-off is set for 7.45pm BST. The game will be broadcast live on BT Sport 2.

Overview

Lionel Messi scored on his return from injury as Barcelona thumped Deportivo La Coruna 4-0 on 15 October. The Catalan giants have won all four of their previous encounters with Manchester City in European competition, with Ivan Rakitic scoring the only goal of the game the last time the two teams met at Camp Nou in March 2015.

Sergi Roberto (leg), Jordi Alba (hamstring) and Jasper Cillessen (ankle) all sat out the Deportivo match due to injury and are doubtful to feature against City.

Manchester Citys winless run in all competitions extended to three matches as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Everton at the Etihad Stadium on 15 October. The Premier League leaders have only won two of their nine previous away fixtures against Spanish clubs in European competition.

Defender Bacary Sagna picked up a hamstring injury while on international duty with France and misses the trip to Catalonia.

What managers say

Luis Enrique: Messi is back and in top form. I look at City and they have many options. But the rival coach also knows he has a difficult job to stop us with so many variants and tactical possibilities. Ive not spoken to Pep. This [win against Deportivo] was the perfect way to prepare for the City match. They will be a very attractive opponent. Theyre progressing continuously and even more so thanks to their coach. But I wont tell you what system I will play.

Pep Guardiola: I cannot deny that it is something special for me. I grew up in Catalonia. At 13 years old I went there to play in the academy and I was promoted to a professional player, the trainer. So I spent most of my life there. I know the people there, I know the club, the media, most of the players are still there, so the emotion is there. It happened with Bayern Munich, and it happened this year, and if I continue coaching at the high level, at the big clubs, and we are lucky to arrive in the Champions League, that is going to happen more times.