PREVIEW | AS Monaco v FC Barcelona

After two days of Champions League matches involving other teams, the wait is over. Thursday finally brings the game we've been waiting for more than any other in this first week of the brand new League Phase of the competition. Barça are in action at the Stade Louis II in beautiful Monaco.

The game kicks off at 9pm CEST, and if you need to know what time that is where you are in the world and what channels might be showing the game, then our guide is just the thing you need.

And don't forget you will find all the information you need, including minute by minute updates as the game unfolds, right here in our Match Center.

Head to head

By coincidence, Monaco are the very same side that just a few weeks ago was at the Estadi Olimpic to contest the preseason Joan Gamper Trophy. Barça were utterly stunned that day when goals from Lamine Camara, Breel Embolo and Christian Mawissa secured a 3-0 win for the guests, ending a run of 11 Gamper victories for the Catalan, dating back to Sampdoria's win in 2012.

Aside from that and a couple of friendlies in 1959 and 1960, the only previous competitive meeting between these teams was in the Champions League of 1993/94. Coached by Johan Cruyff, Barça won 2-0 at Camp Nou with both goals coming from Txiki Begiristáin. And then Hristo Stoichkov scored the solitary goal in a 1-0 win away. Both Barça and Monaco eventually advanced from the group.

Team news

Since the setback of losing the Gamper, Barça have done nothing but win. Following three close 2-1 games, they hammered Valladolid 7-0 and were equally impressive as they dispatched Girona 4-1 at Montilivi. Now it's time to continue that brilliant form onto the European stage.

And Barça will be doing that with the welcome news that Ansu Fati is back in the side. Following his spell on loan to Brighton, the youngster picked up an injury in preseason training, and only now is he able to make his first appearance in the blaugrana jersey for over a year.

Both Gavi and Frenkie de Jong were both able to train with the rest of their team-mates this week, but neither is ready to play in this one, and neither is Ronald Araujo.

Hansi Flick is covering for those absences by drafting in Guillermo Fernández, Toni Fernández, Andrés Cuenca, Gerard Martín, Sergi Domínguez Ander Astralaga, Héctor Fort and Gerard Martín from the reserves.

Did you know?

Monaco are something of experts at beating Liga teams, having won seven of their last nine games at home to Spanish outfits. The only defeat in this streak was the 2-1 loss to Athletic Club in the 2018-2019 Champions League.

Barça have won in 71% of their opening fixtures since the Champions League replaced the old European Cup.

Should Monaco lose this game, they will become the first ever to lose eight consecutive Champions League fixtures in their home stadium. Home and away, the Monegasques have a miserable record of being winless in their last 14 games.

Should he play, Lamine Yamal will surpass Jude Bellingham, Youri Tielemans and Warren Zaïre-Emery by becoming the player with the most UCL appearances before his 18th birthday.

For more factoids about the game, check out this list of ten essential pieces of information.

Next games

A reminder that after Monaco, Barça have seven more games to play against Young Boys (H), Bayern Munich (H), Red Star Belgrade (A), Brest (H), Borussia Dortmund (A), Benfica (A) and Atalanta (H). There are no groups any more, instead all 36 teams are ranked in the same ladder, with the top eight advancing directly to the round of 16, and the teams ranked 9-24 going into a play-off round. The remaining 12 teams will all be eliminated, without the safety net of the Europa League.

What they're saying

FC Barcelona coach Hansi Flick stated that although they face a great opponent tomorrow, "now it's a new situation, we have the Champions League now" and "everyone is ready and wants to play", while showing his respect for his counterpart Adi Hutter, a man he knows very well from his Bundesliga days. FULL STORY

Central defender Jules Kounde explained that he "wants to compete in the Champions League and show his best". In fact, the Frenchman is convinced that "the chances of winning the game are much higher this time given the team's form coming into the game". FULL STORY