(Football news) Lionel Messi is set to reunite with his former manager Pep Guardiola as Man City clash with Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes in Matchday 2 of Group A. Fans will hope that the fixture lives up to the hype with the amount of talent on display. Both teams have long standing ambitions of winning the Champions League but have failed to do so, both are also owned by rich Arab families and both the teams are favourites to win the elite European competition this season. One can almost say that it’s a final that is happening too soon.

Manchester City will be without Ilkay Gundogan who suffered a knock against Southampton and will be unavailable until after the international break. The only other absentee in City’s squad is Oleksandr Zinchenko, the left back is recovering from a calf issue. Aymeric Laporte and Rodri are back in contention for Man City and it remains to be seen if Pep Guardiola will use them against PSG or Liverpool later in the week. The likes of John Stones, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling look likely to make the starting XI after being among the substitutes against Chelsea.

Mauricio Pochettino will breathe a sigh of relief as his countryman Lionel Messi is back in training for PSG and available for selection against Manchester City. The Argentine missed two Ligue 1 fixtures due to a bruised knee but seems to have recovered in time for this crucial fixture. Marco Verrati is also back in the squad after missing four games with a knee problem and will give the attack-heavy PSG side some much needed balance with defensive contributions.

Paris Saint-Germain will look to win their first match against Man City, having drawn 2 and lost 3 previously, especially considering that the French giants were held to a draw against Club Brugge in the first match of Group A. The match will be broadcasted on 29th September, 12:30 am IST in India.

Liverpool travel to Estádio do Dragão in a clash against Porto in Matchday 2 of Group B. The Reds are currently on top of their Group, being the only team to have won a fixture in Matchday 1 and will be looking to all but cement their place in the next round. Porto are without their goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin who is out after a knee surgery last month. Chancel Mbemba will also not be available for selection after receiving a red card against Atletico Madrid while 38 year old Pepe is currently injured. Trent Alexander-Arnold has not travelled with the Liverpool squad despite resuming training on Monday while Naby Keita is available for selection. However, Klopp is expected to make changes to ensure the squad is fresh and ready to face Manchester City this weekend.

AC Milan will be looking forward to welcoming Champions League nights at the San Siro for the first time in seven years when Atletico Madrid visit Italy’s fashion capital. AC Milan are currently in red hot form, having won five out of the last six matches in the Serie A and currently occupy 2nd place behind Napoli. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Rade Krunic are expected to be out from the fixture due to injuries while Simon Kjaer, Alessandro Florenzi, Davide Calabria and Olivier Giroud are expected to be available for selection. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid have had a stuttering start, winning only one out of the last five games in all competitions. Stefan Savic is unavailable due to suspension because of which Jose Gimenez is expected to take his place.

Also read: UEFA drops legal charges against Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus for involvement in the European Super League