Barcelona vs Inter Milan Preview: 4 Things to watch out for
Tonight, Barcelona take on Inter Milan in Matchday 3 to decide who will go top of Group B in this year's UEFA Champions League group stages. Both sides go into then fixture on a high from their victories on the weekend - Barcelona beat Sevilla 4-2, while Inter left it late before beating arch-rivals AC Milan in stoppage-time on Sunday.
Despite this, both suffered injuries to key players. Barcelona will be without their captain and talisman Lionel Messi (arm) while Radja Nainggolan (ankle) sustained an injury after half-an-hour at the San Siro.
With that in mind, here are four things to watch out for when the two giants meet at the Nou Camp:
#1 Life without Messi for Barca
With Messi injured and sidelined for at least three weeks, it's the perfect opportunity for Barcelona to test their squad's resolve. It will provide the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembélé the opportunity to prove why they are the world's second and third most expensive signings.
Despite his world-class ability, Luis Suárez has struggled for regular goals this season and they'll hope the Uruguayan can step up to the plate once more. This will be a testing week ahead for the Blaugrana, who have their eternal rivals Real Madrid waiting for them this weekend.
With one eye on El Clasico, it will be interesting to see whether Ernesto Valverde decides to rest some key players for this match - testing out a different formation or opting to give players like Arturo Vidal and Malcom a chance centre-stage here.
#2 Icardi's Camp Nou audition
Mauro Icardi's name regularly popped up as one of the club's possible long-term replacements for Luis Suárez. While the 25-year-old has consistently scored in Italy's top-flight over the past few seasons, the Inter captain has not yet proven his ability as regularly in the Champions League.
After his goals against both Tottenham and PSV already in this group, it'll be interesting to see if he can replicate his goalscoring heroics at the Camp Nou to justify the weight of expectation on his shoulders in attack. If he does play well, it will only see his market value continue to increase.