Will Barcelona freeze in Kiev without Messi?

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has been ruled out of Barcelona's Champions League match against Dynamo Kiev. The Blaugrana have left the Argentine out of the 19-man squad to face the Ukrainian outfit on Tuesday.

Messi played the full 90 minutes in the 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid, but the 33-year-old will now miss the Group G match. Manager Ronald Koeman insists the time is right to prioritise La Liga, with the Catalan giants languishing in 12th position in the table. Midfielder Frenkie de Jong is another notable absentee despite being tipped to fill in for injured Gerard Pique at centre-back.

The Champions League returns for the second instalment of three back-to-back matchdays, with eight fixtures from Europe's elite competition on Tuesday night.

The Champions League has been a welcome distraction to the chaos continuing to unfold behind the scenes at Barcelona.

Ronald Koeman's men sit top of their group with a perfect record after the opening three games and will all but guarantee their qualification to the knockout stages with a repeat victory over Kyiv.

History will be on Barca's side on Tuesday night with the Spaniards unbeaten in their last three away trips to Ukraine, while Kyiv have won just one of their last 11 games in the Champions League. No team has won their group more than Barcelona – 21 times and counting – but if Koeman's side are well-placed in Group G, Dynamo Kyiv gave them quite a test despite losing 2-1 on Matchday 3.

Chelsea and Sevilla start the day six points clear of the bottom two-- Rennes and Krasnodar -in the section. If the Blues prevail in France and the UEFA Europa League holders win in Russia, both sides will be guaranteed a top-two finish.

It still feels a little strange to think of Juventus under Andrea Pirlo's leadership. The Italian playmaker was a generational talent in his pomp but not a player you might automatically assume to be a natural fit as a top-level manager.

His Juve side are still discovering their identity and four goals against Ferencvaros on Matchday 3 showed the potential of Pirlo's offensively-minded coaching style but they must rediscover their consistency in order to mount any serious challenge for the Champions League.

The Ole Gunnar Solskjaer project was dealt a major blow on Matchday 3 as Man Utd sank to a shocking 2-1 defeat against Group H bottom dwellers Istanbul Basaksehir.

Exacting revenge over their opponents on Tuesday night would see them excise the demons of Istanbul a fortnight ago - but more importantly, could pave the way for United to secure qualification from one of the most competitive groups in this year's tournament.