Barcelona vs Manchester City: Pep Guardiola leaves door open for Lionel Messi reunion

Bayern Munich seek return to winning ways as Arsenal host Ludogorets.

Fans across the globe have a mouth-watering contest at hands as Pep Guardiola takes Manchester City to Barcelona, his former club, for their Champions League match on Wednesday.

GROUP A Paris Saint Germain v Basel, Arsenal v Ludogorets Razgrad As coach of Sevilla last season Unai Emery beat Basel on the way to winning the Europa League. Now his current charges, French champions Paris Saint-Germain, host them in confident mood thanks to Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani — enjoying a purple patch of 15 goals in his last 11 games - and Brazilian playmaker Lucas. Basel, meanwhile, warmed up with a 3-0 win over Luzern and can welcome back players whose legs were saved at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Arsenal look a solid bet to continue their Champions League unbeaten start when they host Bulgarian outfit Ludogorets Razgrad. One note of caution for the hosts is that Ludogorets took the lead in both their games, a 1-1 draw with the Swiss and a 3-1 home defeat by PSG. The Bulgarian champions are also on a seven game unbeaten run away from home.

Group B Napoli v Besiktas, Dynamo Kiev v Benfica Napoli will become the first team to qualify for the last-16 if they notch up their third straight win and Dynamo Kiev draw with Benfica. The Serie A side lost to Roma on Saturday, leaving them seven points off the league leaders Juventus and will also be missing star striker Arkaduisz Milik. Besiktas were buoyed by a 1-0 win at Kayserispor to maintain their best domestic start in five seasons. Dyanmo and Benfica are still searching for their first win so as to remain in a fighting position.

GROUP C Barcelona v Manchester City, Celtic v Borussia Moenchengladbach Pep Guardiola’s return to Barcelona, the club where he won the Champions League as both player and coach (twice) makes this game the tie of the season so far. Barcelona have won 12 straight Champions League games at home and Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar are all primed to play. Crucially for City playmaker Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero will be at full fitness after two draws and a defeat in the last three games. Captain Vincent Kompany also looks set for a start Elsewhere, Celtic’s raucous fans carried the Hoops to a wild 3-3 draw with Pep Guardiola’s Man City last time out and will be a bankable asset against Germany’s Borussia Moenchengladbach. The man to keep an eye on is Celtic striker Moussa Dembele, who has 15 goals in his last 17 games.

Group D Rostov v Atletico Madrid, Bayern vs PSV Russia’s Rostov are seeking to build on their plucky home Champions League debut 2-2 draw against PSV after an opening 5-0 thumping by Bayern Munich. The Russians are up against it after last season’s finalists Atletico who sparkled in a 1-0 defeat of Bayern Munich. It lifted Diego Simeone’s impressive side into the group lead.

In Germany, Bayern host PSV with Carlo Ancelotti slamming their “bad attitude” in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt and club chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge describing the performance as “unacceptable”. They need a win to steady the ship. Franck Ribery misses the match with a leg injury.