Marco Reus Says Borussia Dortmund 'Want Lionel Messi to Play' in UCL Clash

Borussia Dortmund forward Marco Reus has said he hopes Barcelona's Lionel Messi is fit for the UEFA Champions League clash between the two sides on Tuesday.

Messi has yet to feature in a competitive game for the Blaugrana this season due to a calf problem, but has been included in the team's travelling party for the European showdown at the Westfalenstadion.

Speaking ahead of the game, Reus said his team want to test themselves against the best version of Barcelona, including Messi, per AS:

"We want Messi to play, but we cannot influence what tomorrow will look like. We do not want to talk that much about the opponent. Everyone knows that he is the best, but we play at home and want to win.

"A difficult game awaits us. We have to be careful and will we have to suffer a lot in the game. We have to be brave and play our game, put ourselves forward and then hope to score goals."

The match is set to be a crucial one, with Group F poised to be one of the most fiercely contested in the competition. Serie A giants Inter Milan will face Slavia Prague in the other fixture in the pool.

Per the Borussia Twitter account, Messi has previously spoken about how he would like to play in front of the Dortmund crowd:

While Barcelona will still be the favourites to progress from the group and are among the top contenders to win the Champions League, in Dortmund they will be up against a serious side.

Under manager Lucien Favre, BVB have made major strides and are now among the most exciting attacking sides in European football. On Saturday, they were exceptional in a 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.

Reus was Dortmund's star man in the win, netting two goals and putting in a lot of effort out of possession for the team:

Jadon Sancho also continued his electric start to the campaign, setting up a couple of Dortmund goals, including one for Reus:

After a fantastic win, Dortmund will be confident going into the game with Barcelona and it'll be intriguing to see how the La Liga side cope with what promises to be a hostile atmosphere.

Their previous outing in the Champions League was one to forget, as they were beaten 4-0 by Liverpool in the semi-finals having won the first leg of the tie 3-0. It was the second time in two seasons the Blaugrana collapsed away from home in the second leg of a knockout clash, with Roma mounting a shock comeback in 2018.

With that in mind, the Catalan giants will be desperate to get a win on the board in the Champions League early on away from home, especially at a challenging venue like Dortmund. Fitness permitting, their chances will be enhanced if Messi features.