Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and family. (Photo : Getty Images)
Scottish Premiership champions Celtic FC will take on the world's finest football team, La Liga champions FC Barcelona, on Saturday, July 30 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin for a 2016 International Champions Cup match.
Celtic had already played their first game in the said friendly tournament against English Premier League titlists Leicester City last Saturday in a champion-versus-champion encounter at the Celtic Park in Glasgow.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw after regulation time, with goals from Riyad Mahrez and Eoghan O'Connell, but the Foxes edges out the Bhoys, 6-5, in penalties after right winger James Forrest missed his team's sixth spot kick attempt, as per Daily Mail Online.
Meanwhile, Barça is set to play its first preseason match which is fortunate to be graced by five-time Ballon d'Or awardee Lionel Messi and one of his frontline partners Luis Suárez. The third part of their trio, Neymar, will not be available as he is with the Brazil national team that will compete in the coming Rio Summer Olympics next month.
Messi is a surprise attendee for the Catalonia giants as he cut his holiday short after suiting up for the Argentina squad in the recent Copa America Centenario.
Head coach Luis Enrique's side is coming off their Copa de Rey-clinching 2-0 victory over Sevilla at the Vicente Calderón Stadium back in May, via ESPN. Messi provided both assists in the match with goals by Jordi Alba and Neymar at the 97th and in injury time respectively.
With Messi on board, Irish fans at the Aviva will have the blessing of seeing who is arguably the world's greatest footballer in person.
Barça is the overwhelming favorite despite coming without their back and midfield mainstays like Gerard Piqué, Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, and Javier Mascherano because of the presence of Messi, Suárez, and Turkish star Arda Turan.
Another that goes against the Celts in this match is manager Brendan Rodgers will not want to risk trying to win a friendly match at the expense of his first team, who are currently competing in the UEFA Champions League elimination rounds.
So expect a relaxed game from Celtic but an exciting one as well as Messi will display his magic for the fans once again.
The predicted result is a 4-0 romp for Barcelona.
Celtic starting lineup (3-5-2 formation): Gordon; Janko, Lustig, O'Connell; Roberts, McGregor, Brown, Armstrong, Izaguirre; Griffiths, Dembélé
Barcelona starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Masip; Roberto, Adriano, Vidal, Mathieu; Turan, D. Suárez, Samper; Messi, Suárez, Tello
