Good evening! The Champions League proper is back, ladies and gentlemen, and what a match we have to get it all started again tonight!

It is a game which would grace the final - as it did as recently as 2015 - as Barcelona host Juventus at the Camp Nou in their opening Group D fixture. These two sides should occupy the qualifying spots once all is said and done in this group, but the main question is what order they will come in, and tonight's match could have a big bearing on that. Just last season this fixture graced the quarter-finals, and it is sure to be another memorable affair as two of Europe's biggest clubs clash on matchday one.

Before we take a closer look, though, let's first check out the team news...

BARCELONA STARTING XI: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta; Dembele, Suarez, Messi

JUVENTUS STARTING XI: Buffon; De Sciglio, Benatia, Barzagli, Sandro; Pjanić, Matuidi, Bentancur; Dybala, Douglas Costa, Higuain

What can we make of those two teams, then?

Well, the headline as far as the hosts are concerned is a full debut for Ousmane Dembele, who came off the bench during the 5-0 win over Espanyol at the weekend and had an impact by assisting Suarez's goal in the Catalan derby. The youngster has plenty to prove before he can fill the sizeable hole left by Neymar's departure, but Barca clearly have great faith in him and he replaces Gerard Deulofeu in the starting XI tonight.

Big night for the France international!

Dembele does, of course, have the benefit of playing alongside two of the greatest players in world football tonight, with the deadly duo of Suarez and Messi making up that front three. It may not be quite as imposing as it was with Neymar in it, but Dembele certainly has the potential to complement the South American pairing to devastating effect.

Not that either need to be made more devastating. Suarez has been quick to get back on the goal trail following a spell out through injury, while Messi netted a hat-trick against Espanyol - his 42nd of his career and 38th for Barcelona - to make it five goals in his last two games.

© SilverHub

The introduction of Dembele is the only change made by manager Ernesto Valverde to that 5-0 win over Espanyol, with the hosts largely keeping faith with the team that cruised past their local rivals. That means that Andres Iniesta starts once again amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding his contract situation at the club, playing alongside Busquets and Rakitic in the middle of the park.

At the back there is another start for Semedo, in addition to the more familiar trio of Pique - who also scored against Espanyol, Umtiti and Alba. Juventus have some deadly attacking players themselves - as Barcelona found out in the quarter-finals last season - so that back four and Ter Stegen behind them will need to continue the type of form which has seen them keep three clean sheets in a row heading into this match.

As for Juventus, they are able to welcome the talismanic Gianluigi Buffon back in goal after he was rested for the match against Chievo last time out. The veteran Italian remains one of the world's best goalkeepers and has already secured his place amongst the greatest of all time in his position. He has never won the Champions League, though, and after missing out twice in the final over the past three years, this is likely to be his final chance.

Juventus's defence made most of the headlines for their team in the Champions League last season, but they have lost a significant member of their wall in the form of Bonucci, who joined AC Milan during the summer. Juve are also without Chiellini this evening as he misses out with a calf injury, leaving Benatia and Barzagli as the centre-backs and De Sciglio and Sandro on either flank.

It is still a very good defensive unit, but certainly not as strong as it was when the two teams last met in April.

For all of the silly money spent during the summer transfer window - something Barcelona were so heavily involved in, of course - Juventus may well have picked up the value money buy with their purchase of Matuidi for a reported £18m. The former PSG man joins Pjanic and Bentancur in the side tonight, with the latter one of six changes made by Allegri from the weekend win. Buffon, De Sciglio, Sandro, Barzagli and Dybala also come into the team after being rested last time out.

Dybala looks like being the main threat for Juve tonight, as he was in the April meeting between these two sides. The Argentine scored twice in Turin to send Juve on their way to a 3-0 victory which proved enough to see them through quite comfortably, and he has been in fine form this season too with seven goals in his last four games for Juve - including one hat-trick already this season.

Even if Barcelona are able to keep Dybala quiet then they must then also deal with Douglas Costa and Gonzalo Higuain, the latter of whom knows Barca well from his time with Real Madrid.

Both teams are completely jam-packed with talent, then, and it would not be a great surprise to see either of them in the final come May.

Their journey starts here tonight, though, and Barcelona's home advantage just about makes them favourites in this battle of the European giants. Barca have the greater pedigree in this competition too, although in recent seasons it is Juve who have outperformed the Catalan outfit. Indeed, Barca have been knocked out in the quarter-finals of the last two Champions League seasons, which is a disappointing return for a club of their stature.

Barca are appearing in their record-equalling 22nd Champions League group stage, though, while this is the 14th consecutive year they have been involved in the competition proper.

They have gone on to win their group a record 18 times too, including every year for the past decade - last failing to do so in 2006-07 when they went into the campaign as holders.

This is Ernesto Valverde's first Champions League outing as Barca boss, but he has experienced the competition with three other clubs. He has never made it past the last 16, though, which is something Barcelona will certainly be expecting to happen this time around.

Valverde has not been at a club like Barca in that time, of course, but when compared to Allegri's record of reached the knockout rounds in each of his seven years as a Champions League manager, there is a discrepancy in the dugout tonight.

Valverde's reign got off to a pretty shocking start, in truth, with some claiming Barca were in turmoil before a ball had even been kicked this season. Losing Neymar to PSG did not only see them lose a supremely talented player, it was also a slap in the face for a club like Barca, who are usually the ones who do the poaching.

Upsetting the food chain like PSG certainly hasn't gone down well in Spain, and having lost Neymar the Catalan giants then lost back-to-back matches against El Clasico rivals Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup before missing out on Philippe Coutinho on deadline day.

All of the unrest at the club means that there is likely to be a power struggle at the top, but on the field at least things have returned to normal since the start of the league season.

Barca have won all three of their opening La Liga fixtures and currently sit top of the table as one of only two teams with a 100% record. Barca are also one of only two teams yet to concede in La Liga this season, scoring nine goals without reply in their opening three fixtures.

Perhaps more importantly, though, they already find themselves four points clear of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

Barca have only lost one of their last 29 home outings in all competitions, winning 23 of those and drawing five over the past 12 months. The only exception was their Super Cup loss to Real Madrid last month, although in those 29 matches they have still managed to score a whopping 102 goals - an average of 3.5 per game.

Only one team has managed to stop them scoring in their last 23 home games in all competitions, and that just so happens to be Juventus in the quarter-final here last season.

Barcelona's form in the Champions League in the knockout stages was not the best, and they come into tonight's game having won just one of their last four outings in the competition - albeit a very memorable win over PSG.

At home, though, they have been imperious. They are unbeaten in their last 21 Champions League games at the Camp Nou, winning 19 of those in a run which stretches all the way back to May 2013. Indeed, former manager Luis Enrique only failed to win one of his Champions League home games during his time in charge of the club, but once again that was the 0-0 draw with Juve here last term.

It seems if anyone can stop Barca it is Juve, then, and the Italian champions have certainly been growing as a force on the continental stage in recent seasons.

Having utterly dominated Italian football for the past six seasons - winning Serie A each year and the double in each of the last three years - Juve somewhat surprisingly made it all the way to the final in 2015. By Allegri's own admission it came earlier than planned and they weren't fully expecting to beat Barcelona, but last season's run to the final was all the more predictable.

Once again Juve succumbed to Spanish opposition in the final, though, with Real Madrid surprisingly running out comfortable 4-1 winners in Cardiff to leave Juventus still searching for their first title since 1996 - and only their third overall. It is less than you might expect from a club of Juve's calibre, but having fallen at the final hurdle in two of the last three seasons, belief will be high that they can make major inroads into the competition again this term.

Juve are making their 18th appearance in the Champions League group stages - an Italian record which sees them surpass AC Milan's tally of 17 - which it is their sixth in a row. They have reached the knockout round in each of the past three years, going on to reach the final in two of those, and failure to get out of this group would come as a huge shock this term.

Juve may have to duke it out for top spot with Barcelona, but with Olympiacos and Sporting Lisbon their other Group D opponents to come, there should be much for either the Spanish or Italian giants to worry about.

Like Barcelona, Juventus's season got off to a shaky start with defeat in the Super Cup as they fell to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Lazio. However, they too have been quick to bounce back from that and have instantly resumed their position at the top of the Serie A table in these opening weeks of the season.

Three wins from three has put them above fell 100%ers Napoli and Inter Milan as they go in search of an unprecedented seventh consecutive title.

Juve have scored in 19 of their last 20 away games in all competitions, but the exception in that run came here at the Camp Nou last season - although the onus was not on Juve to attack in that match. Despite that scoring run - and the fact that they have lost just one of their last seven outings on the road - Juve have not won consecutive away games in the same season since February. It certainly isn't the worst record you will find, but also not as good as you might expect from such a dominant domestic force.

Juventus lost just one of their 13 Champions League games last season, but unfortunately for them that was the one which really counted as Real Madrid ran riot in the final. That 4-1 defeat came as a particular surprise before Juventus's defence have been so impressive in the tournament up to that point, keeping nine clean sheets in their 12 games before Cardiff - including two against the Messi, Neymar and Suarez trio and another one against the free-scoring Monaco.

Juve had conceded just three goals all tournament going into the final, but they proceeded to conceded four in one night to condemn themselves to another defeat.

Away from home, Juventus have won five and lost none of their last six Champions League outings, all of which came last season. It is a run which stretches back to March of 2016 when they lost to Bayern Munich after extra time, while it also contains five clean sheets and just one goal conceded. Home and away, Juventus come into this match with only one defeat from their last 15 Champions League group games.

PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes from kickoff at the Camp Nou, which means that it is time for a prediction!

Whichever way the result goes tonight, we should be in for a treat as two of the best sides in world football do battle, but the home advantage could prove vital for Barca. Juventus managed to hold them to a goalless draw here on their last visit when Barca still had Neymar, but the circumstances are different tonight. Add to that the fact that Juve are without arguably their best defender and I have to back the hosts here.

Sports Mole says: 2-1

As already mentioned, this match is a repeat of the quarter-final last year, when Juventus ended Barcelona's run with a 3-0 aggregate victory.

All of those goals came in Turin, with Dybala notching a brace before Chiellini added a third to take the tie further away from Barcelona, who were unable to produce another miraculous second-leg comeback as they drew 0-0 here in April.

These two sides also met in the final of this competition in 2015, with Barcelona running out winners on that occasion to lift the trophy for a fourth time in the space of 10 seasons.

That remains Barca's solitary win over Juve in their last six competition meetings, including another quarter-final in 2002-03 in which Juve prevailed.

The overall head-to-head record between the two sides is exactly equal, with three wins apiece, three draws and 10 goals for and against each too. That is as far as competitive fixtures go, but these two sides did actually play each other in the International Champions Cup this pre-season, with Barca running out 2-1 winners thanks to a Neymar brace.

Right, the players are out on the field, the anthem is being belted out (welcome back) and we're almost ready to get going here. Before we start, though, let's first have a reminder of the team news tonight:

BARCELONA STARTING XI: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta; Dembele, Suarez, Messi

JUVENTUS STARTING XI: Buffon; De Sciglio, Benatia, Barzagli, Sandro; Pjanić, Matuidi, Bentancur; Dybala, Douglas Costa, Higuain

The Champions League anthem is enough to make the hairs stand on end for many, but these Barcelona fans don't like it. They whistle the UEFA tune throughout.

KICKOFF: A few minutes later than scheduled, Barcelona get us underway for this blockbuster clash. There has already been a goal in the group's other game, meanwhile, with Sporting taking the lead against Olympiacos.

Both teams are just feeling each other out in the opening stages of this one. They both know that the opposition have the ability to hit them on the break very quickly, so it has been a fairly cautious start.

Dembele picks the ball up and immediately switches through the gears, bursting past a couple of defenders before being stopped on the edge of the box.

CLOSE! It is almost Juve who take the lead, and in some style. De Sciglio of all people comes down the right flank and unleashes a stunning effort towards the corner, but Ter Stegen gets across to make a fine one-handed save.

The referee didn't see it and awards a goal kick, but that was a crucial touch from Ter Stegen.

UPDATE: There has been a goal at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea have taken the lead against Qarabag through Barcelona old boy Pedro.

Barcelona have plenty of pace down that right flank. Semedo bursts forward and is chased back by the equally-rapid Costa, who just clips his heels to concede a free kick in a dangerous crossing position...

SAVE! The free kick is dealt with by Juventus, via a tentative penalty shout from Barcelona, and the visitors then hit the hosts on the break quickly. Costa releases Dybala down the left channel, but Semedo has the pace to get back and in the end Dybala has to go for goal from a tight angle, making it is easy for Ter Stegen.

UPDATE: There has been another early goal in the other Group D match taking place tonight, and it is all going well for Sporting at the moment as they take a 2-0 lead over Olympiacos.

Things don't look quite as rosy for Anderlecht, who are now down to 10 men and 1-0 down against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.

SAVE! It is Juve who have looked most like scoring in these opening exchanges, and they threaten again here as Pjanic skips past one man to create space to shoot before drawing a save from Ter Stegen with a low drive.

Iniesta almost unpicks the lock from Juventus as he tries a clever disguised pass in towards Rakitic, but he just puts it too close to the defender. It was the right idea from the midfield maestro, though.

Almost a chance for Barcelona to break, but Buffon is alert to the danger and is a long way off his line to sweep up. A ball over the top threatens to release Dembele, who looks favourite for a moment, but he almost seems to pull out of the challenge as Buffon chests it down and clears the danger.

Perhaps Dembele had watched the incident with Sadio Mane and Emerson on Saturday and decided against risking the red card.

UPDATE: Another Barcelona old boy has got himself on the scoresheet elsewhere, and there are no prizes for guessing his identity. Neymar has given PSG the lead against Celtic in Glasgow.

Back at the Camp Nou, some lovely footwork from Iniesta sees him win a free kick right on the edge of the box. Matuidi is lucky to escape a yellow card, but there could be worse punishment coming...

SAVE! Messi goes low with the free kick, but the wall does its job and blocks it. The ball bounces back out to Suarez, though, and his quick first-time effort is tipped over by a fine Buffon stop.

We're midway through the first half now, and both sides will be fairly comfortable with how this match has gone so far. Barcelona have enjoyed the lion's share of possession, but Juventus have had the majority of the chances.

This one remains very finely poised.

Costa almost creates another chance for the visitors with a brilliant piece of skill, darting inside from the left flank before scooping an audacious pass out to Bentancur on the right channel. The Juve man takes it down, but Alba is across quickly to block him.

YELLOW CARD! Bentancur is involved again here, but not in the way he would like. He becomes the first man in the book tonight for a late challenge on Rakitic.

Juventus are once again dealing with Barcelona well today. Not many teams can nullify Barca's attacking threat, but having kept two clean sheets against them last season they have kept them pretty quiet again this time around so far.

Juventus almost break again as Messi is caught in possession and Dybala slips the ball into the path of Higuain. The striker's effort is half-blocked by Pique, though, and that makes it easy for the keeper.

Referee Damir Skomina has been lenient so far tonight, letting Matuidi off one early and now only awarding a free kick for a poor challenge from Costa on Messi.

UPDATE: There has been another goal at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea have doubled their lead against Qarabag through summer signing Davide Zappacosta.

Concern for De Sciglio here as he drops to the ground with no opposition player around him - always a worrying sign for a player. He may not be able to continue here.

A replay shows that he seemed to pick up the injury when playing a pass and following through against the leg of Iniesta. It doesn't look too serious, though, and he is already back on.

YELLOW CARD! You won't see many more blatant yellow cards than this one, even considering the lenient approach so far. Semedo drags Costa to the ground from behind, and can have no complaints at going in the book.

UPDATE: There have been some notable goals elsewhere in Europe since the last update, with Marouane Fellaini giving Manchester United the lead against Basel and Kylian Mbappe joining Neymar on the scoresheet for PSG against Celtic.

CHANCE! It is all so tight in the middle of the park, but after Juve stop Messi in his tracks they almost gift a first Barcelona goal to Dembele. De Sciglio is the man at fault, playing a square ball inside his own area straight to Barcelona's newest signing, but he is bailed out by a defensive partner and only a corner comes of it.

UPDATE: Move aside Barcelona, there is a new deadly front three in Europe. PSG are now 3-0 up against Celtic, with Edinson Cavani scoring from the spot to join Neymar and Mbappe on the scoresheet.

JUVENTUS SUB: De Sciglio is unable to carry on having failed to shake off that earlier injury, which sees Stefano Sturaro replace him.

UPDATE: Sporting are putting down an early marker in Group D! They now lead Olympiacos 3-0 in Greece and look like ending matchday one top of the group.

Good pressure from Juventus as they probe for a way through, with first Higuain and then Matuidi almost getting through on the edge of the box. Barcelona escape with nothing worse than a corner, though.

He has been kept quiet for the vast majority of this first half, but Lionel Messi bursts into life right on the stroke of half time and breaks the deadlock for the hosts!

Messi collects the ball in a deep position and opts against the easy pass out to Alba in favour of sneaking a clever one into the feet of Suarez. Suarez instinctively plays the return ball, and Messi then steers his accurate finish into the bottom far corner.

It is the first time that Messi has ever scored past Buffon, and there was nothing the goalkeeper could do there. Brilliant football from the Barcelona duo.

The first half comes to an end at the Camp Nou, then, and it is Barcelona who go into the break with the lead courtesy of a goal right on the stroke of half time.

The hosts have seen almost two-thirds of the possession, but Juventus have had plenty of sights of goal themselves and the half-time stats show that they have actually had more shots than Barcelona. This one is far from over, though, and a fascinating 45 minutes await.

The only goal of the game so far came in the final minute of normal time before half time, and it was Lionel Messi who continued his brilliant recent form to break the deadlock.

The Barca talisman had been kept quiet by a disciplined Juventus performance, but he only needs a half-chance to make the opposition pay and he made the most of it when it came. Messi collected the ball just inside the Juve half and drove forward before exchanging passes with Suarez and tucking a pinpoint finish into the bottom far corner.

Juventus have had their chances too, though, and Ter Stegen was the busier of the two goalkeepers in the early stages especially. The Barcelona shot-stopper made a brilliant save to deny De Sciglio a memorable strike on his full Juventus debut after just six minutes, while Dybala and Pjanic have also seen efforts saved by Ter Stegen.

Despite seeing the majority of the ball, clear chances have been hard to come by for Barcelona. Suarez drew a fine stop from Buffon with a snapshot from just outside the area after Messi had seen his free kick hit the wall, while Dembele was almost gifted an opening towards the closing stages of the half. Juventus have been so hard to break down, but Messi and Suarez finally found a way to unpick the lock.

KICKOFF: Juventus get us back underway for the second half!

CHANCE! Big chance for Juve to come up with an immediate response! The visitors come down the left flank and have plenty of players in the box to aim at. The low cross is intercepted by Pique, but he can only get enough on it to tee up Dybala. You would back Dybala to bury the chance with the form he is in, but he leans back and blazes it over when he should have at least hit the target.

Big, big chance, and you don't get too many of them against Barca!

A Barcelona attack breaks down on the edge of the Juve box following a wayward pass from Dembele, and groans follow from the Barcelona fans. They will need to be patient with the youngster.

OFF THE POST! Barcelona are inches away from doubling their lead, and it is lovely football from the hosts again. Alba cuts inside and plays the ball into the feet of Messi, who suddenly finds himself in a bit of space. He looks for the bottom corner again with his shot and beats Buffon all ends up, but the ball hits the post and then bounces against the prone Buffon before spinning just wide.

An element of fortune about that one for Juventus, especially as the referee pointed for a goal kick despite the ball clearly coming off Buffon last.

YELLOW CARD! You don't see too much of this from Messi, who goes into the book for asking for a yellow card for Pjanic. Messi is unhappy at the leniency from the referee so far, but he had no sympathy from Skomina.

Barcelona have their second goal, and Messi turns the creator this time as he continues to exert his authority on this game.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner floats out to the right flank this time and darts in behind Sandro, racing into the box before squeezing a low pass past Buffon towards Suarez. Sturaro gets there first to clear the ball almost off his own line, but it goes straight to Rakitic, who is left with a simple finish. Messi is beginning to dazzle here.

UPDATE: It is turning into a good night for the English clubs in the Champions League. Manchester United have doubled their lead against Basel through Lukaku, while Azpilicueta is the unlikely source of a third Chelsea goal against Qarabag.

Elsewhere, Benfica lead CSKA Moscow 1-0.

Chance for Barcelona to add a third now as they win a free kick in a very good position...

YELLOW CARD! Barzagli goes in the book for the challenge which gave away the free kick.

SAVE! Messi takes on the free kick duties and places it almost perfectly, but Buffon gets across goal well to push it away.

JUVENTUS SUB: Juve make their second change of the night as Federico Bernardeschi replaces Bentancur.

Bernardeschi looks to make an instant impact, cutting inside from the right flank and unleashing a powerful strike which swerves off target.

CHANCE! Barca fancy their chances of adding a third here, and Suarez almost provides it. Alba feeds a low cross into the front post for the Uruguayan to attack, but he lifts his first-time finish just over the crossbar.

It was all very tight in the first half, but Barcelona have upped their game since the interval and have been much the better team in this second half. Messi's influence has grown and Juve are struggling to deal with the maestro.

It has been coming! Messi gets his second of the evening to kill this one off once and for all as he punishes Juventus for trying to chase the game.

The Argentine has been afforded more space in this second half and he collects a pass around 25 yards from goal this time. It is obvious what he is going to do, but stopping it is a completely different story as he cuts inside onto his left, beats a couple more defenders and fires his finish into the bottom corner, leaving Buffon no chance.

Game over, and Messi is now on yet another hat-trick.

BARCELONA SUB: Barca make their first change of the night as Sergi Roberto replaces Dembele.

This one could still get worse for Juventus before the game is up. Barcelona have stepped up a few gears in this second half and are exacting their revenge on Juventus for last season's quarter-final defeat.

YELLOW CARD! Pjanic is the latest name in the book, getting the yellow card Messi and co wanted for him a while ago.

SAVE! Some neat link-up play just outside the Barcelona box creates another shooting chance for Bernardeschi, whose first-time volley is easy for Ter Stegen to gather.

BARCELONA SUB: Another change for the hosts sees Paulinho replace Rakitic.

DISALLOWED GOAL! Barcelona think they have a fourth goal, but the linesman's flag cuts their celebrations short - although it took a while for the referee to look across to his assistant.

Alba is the man offside as he races down the left flank before playing a low ball into the box which Buffon spills right at the feet of Suarez. It is howler from the veteran keeper, and Suarez duly punishes him, but Buffon's blushes are spared by the flag.

SAVE! Dybala looks to give Juventus a late consolation by sneaking one in at the bottom corner, but Ter Stegen gets across well to turn it around the post.

OFF THE LINE! Oooh Pique is a lucky boy here! Benatia rises highest in the area to meet the resulting corner and his header looks destined for the net having beaten Ter Stegen. Pique is there on the line to clear the danger, but it looked like the ball hit him on the arm. It will be interesting to see that one again, but in normal time it looked like handball, which would have meant a penalty and red card.

Juventus are enjoying a revival here and Ter Stegen is called into action again to deny Higuain from the edge of the box.

BARCELONA SUB: A third and final change for the hosts see Iniesta replace Andre Gomes.

JUVENTUS SUB: A third and final change for Juventus sees 17-year-old Fabrizio Caligara introduced - a player born this century.

YELLOW CARD! Caligara is quick to make his mark... on the ankle of Busquets. In the book he goes.

There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this match.

A statement of intent from Barcelona as they steal a march of their expected main Group D rivals on matchday one.

In the end it was all rather comfortable for the hosts as they ran out 3-0 winners, with Lionel Messi once again the star of the show with two goals either side of a Rakitic strike which he was also heavily involved in. It was actually an even match for the opening 45 minutes, but Messi broke the deadlock on the stroke of half time and then ran the second half to take the game beyond the Italian champions.

Right, that is all we have time for this evening! Thanks you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Lionel Messi inspired Barcelona o a 3-0 win over Juventus in their Champions League Group D opener at the Camp Nou. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too. There is plenty more Champions League football on offer tomorrow night too, so check back in for that! From me, though, it is goodbye for now!