Good evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's Champions League clash between Barcelona and Olympiacos at the Camp Nou!

This game pits top versus bottom in Group D against each other, with Barcelona able to move a big step towards reaching the last 16 should they make it three wins from three tonight whereas Olympiacos realistically need to pick up something if they are to keep their own slim hopes alive.

Before we take a closer look at both camps, though, let's first check out the team news for tonight...

BARCELONA STARTING XI: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Digne; Paulinho, Busquets, Iniesta; Deulofeu, Suarez, Messi

BARCELONA SUBS: Cillessen, Semedo, Rakitic, Denis, Mascherano, Alcacer, Andre Gomes

OLYMPIACOS STARTING XI: Proto; Elabdellaoui, Botia, Nikolau, Koutris; Gillet, Romao, Zdjelar, Carcela-Gonzalez, Androutsos; Odjidja-Ofoe

OLYMPIACOS SUBS: Tachtsidis, Fortounis, Durdevic, Vukovic, Kapino, Engels, Pardo

What can we make of those two teams, then?

Well, the headline news unsurprisingly comes from the Barcelona camp as Gerard Deulofeu returns to the fold for the home side, which should in turn bring with it a switch back to the 4-3-3 formation. Barca have mainly played with more of a 4-4-2 since losing Ousmane Dembele to a long-term injury, but they clearly feel that they can afford to be a little more attacking this evening.

The two alongside Deulofeu in that front three need no introduction, with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez leading the line as ever - both having unsurprisingly being included on the 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist.

Messi, for his part, has also been named in the three-man shortlist for FIFA's The Best awards, and he will find out whether he has scooped that prize in just five days' time. He has certainly done his best to win it so far this season, scoring 17 goals in 16 games for club and country in 2017-18.

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Both Suarez and Messi were on the scoresheet during the recent international break to help their respective nations qualify for the World Cup, with Messi in particular impressing with a hat-trick to drag Argentina into the qualifying positions - the 44th treble of his remarkable career.

Messi has scored in each of Barcelona's last three games against Greek opposition too, and Olympiacos must be concerned about their chances with the Argentine in such good form. Suarez, meanwhile, got a late equaliser against Atletico Madrid at the weekend to get back on the goal trail himself.

Barca have made four changes from that draw at the Wanda Metropolitano, with Deulofeu, Paulinho, Roberto and Digne all coming into the side.

Andre Gomes, who was a surprise inclusion from the start against Atletico, is among those to drop to the bench tonight amid rumours that Messi and Suarez questioned his selection at the weekend, with Paulinho replacing him in the starting XI.

Busquets and Iniesta retain their places from the start in the Barcelona midfield, but further back there are changes as Sergi Roberto and Lucas Digne come into the full-back roles.

Semedo is just one booking away from suspension which is perhaps the reason behind his exclusion, but Alba does not even make the bench as he is given the night off. Semedo and Alba are also the only two changes from the matchday two win over Sporting Lisbon, incidentally.

As for the visitors, they have made no fewer than six changes from their weekend win over Panionios - two at the back, two in midfield and two more in attack.

It looks like Olympiacos will play with something similar to a 4-3-3 formation tonight, although in practice is likely to be more like a 4-5-1 system. Odjidja-Ofoe looks like being the furthest forward from the teamsheet submitted, although we will wait to see if that is actually the case.

Odjidja is one of the five players to keep their spot in the side from that weekend victory, with Proto, Nikolaou, Koutris and Romao the only other players to do so.

Cisse, Figueiras, Pardo, Fortounis, Seba and Ansarifard all drop out of the team from Saturday's match, the latter of whom can feel particularly hard done by having scored twice to help Olympiacos to victory against Panionios.

The hosts are captained by Alberto Botia tonight, and it will be a special occasion for the defender as he returns to his former club.

The Spaniard joined the Barcelona academy at the age of 14 and spent three years in their B side before making his one and only senior appearance for the club in a 1-1 draw with Deportivo La Coruna on the final day of the 2008-09 season. Botia went on to place for Sporting Gijon, Sevilla and Elche in Spain, although he failed to win any of his nine matches against Barca in that time.

The likelihood of Botia picking up that first win against Barcelona tonight looks slim too, it must be said. The hosts will come into this match as overwhelming favourites to pick up all three points, and with good reason.

A turbulent summer off the field, during which Barca lost their manager Luis Enrique and then the £200m man Neymar, looked to be creeping into the new season when they began the campaign with back-to-back defeats at the hands of fierce rivals Real Madrid in the Super Cup, but since then everything has gone very well for the new man in charge Ernesto Valverde.

After those Super Cup defeats, Barcelona won their next nine matches across all competitions to storm clear at the top of both La Liga and their Champions League group, with their relentless form only being slowed by Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

Barca's first ever visit to the Wanda Metropolitano was never going to be easy, and sure enough they saw their 100% La Liga record ended by Diego Simeone's side, but even though they needed a late goal from Suarez to earn a point, Barca's performance still garnered praise.

A first league slip-up of the season allowed the chasing pack to gain a bit of ground at the weekend, but Barca remain four points clear of second-placed Valencia, and perhaps more importantly five above Real Madrid.

There is still a long way to go, of course, but Barcelona look to be in fine form and do not drop many points over the course of a campaign, so a five-point gap is already a big ask for Madrid to make up. Could Ernesto Valverde wrest the league and Champions League crowns off Real Madrid in his first season at the Camp Nou?

Valverde does have previous title-winning experience to his name - and Olympiacos know that better than anyone having employed the Spaniard as their manager in two different spells - 2008-09 and 2010-12.

Of course, the Greek Super League is not quite the same challenge as La Liga, but during his time with Olympiacos Valverde helped the club to three league titles and two Greek Cups, so his time in charge will be fondly remembered by tonight's visiting fans.

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Valverde has certainly made a promising start on the European front too, overseeing a difficult opening two games to this season's campaign to sit top of Group D with maximum points so far.

Juventus, who knocked Barcelona out of the tournament last season, were swept aside 3-0 in their opening game here at the Camp Nou and, while things were not quite as straightforward on matchday two when Barca needed an own goal to scrape past Sporting Lisbon, it is still maximum points and no goals conceded for Barca so far in this season's competition.

Barca are one of only two teams yet to concede a goal in this season's group stages, and that defensive solidity has been a theme in other competitions too, with just three goals conceded and seven clean sheets during their ongoing 10-match unbeaten streak.

At home it has been particularly impressive, with only one goal conceded from their last five matches - all of which have ended in Barcelona victories, scoring 19 goals in the process at an average of just under four per game.

Indeed, the Super Cup loss here to Real Madrid is Barcelona's only home defeat since September 2016 - a run of 32 matches which includes 26 wins and five draws.

It is a similar story in the Champions League, where Barca are unbeaten in their last 22 outings on home turf, winning a whopping 20 of those. You have to go back to May 2013, when they lost 3-0 at home to Bayern Munich in the semi-finals, for their last European defeat at the Camp Nou, and that is their only loss here in their last 45 - a run which stretches back just under eight years.

That all makes for pretty daunting reading from an Olympiacos perspective, particularly considering the visitors' form heading into the match themselves.

The dominant force in Greek football, with seven title wins on the bounce including last season, Olympiacos have made a stuttering start to their campaign both domestically and in Europe, to such an extent that their main focus may already be turning to the Super League rather than salvaging anything from this difficult Champions League group.

Takis Lemonis's side have won just three of their opening seven games in the Greek Super League, which is a very poor start for Olympiacos standards. Their 11-point haul after seven outings is seven points lower than at the same stage of last term, so there has been a definite dip in form.

That is not to say that Olympiacos's hopes of an eighth straight title are over yet, though - they are still just four points adrift of leaders PAOK and will fancy their chances to overcoming their poor form so far.

Olympiacos actually won five and lost none of their opening six matches of the season across all competitions, but since then they have only won two of their next eight, with two draws and four defeats in that time.

Three of those losses came on the bounce too, which made for the club's worst run of form since February 2009 before they finally stopped the rot with a last-gasp 4-3 win over Panionios having earlier squandered their two-goal lead by conceding twice in the final 10 minutes.

Victory tonight would see Olympiacos claim back-to-back wins for the first time since August, but even a draw seems unlikely at a place like the Camp Nou in their current form.

Lemonis's side have been fine going forward domestically this term, scoring more goals than any other side in the Greek Super League, but it is at the other end where their main problems have come. They the second-worst defensive record in the league, ahead of only bottom-placed Larissa, and are without a clean sheet in any of their last eight games across all competitions.

The prospect of keeping Lionel Messi and co at bay for a full 90 minutes seems unlikely, then, particularly as they were three goals down by half time in their opening Champions League group game this season.

Two late goals from Pardo saw Olympiacos make the score more respectable as they fell to a 3-2 home defeat, but it could have been a lot worse than that, with Sporting Lisbon missing plenty more chances in the opening 45 minutes. Olympiacos were better against Juventus last time out, but they still succumbed to a 2-0 defeat and things will not get any easier tonight.

Of course, not many would have expected Olympiacos - who didn't even make it into the group stages last season - to progress once they had been drawn alongside Barcelona and Juventus, but they would have had hopes of third place and reaching the Europa League.

That 3-2 defeat at home to Sporting Lisbon on matchday one could well scupper those chances, though, and Olympiacos will likely need to pick up unexpected points against either of the big boys if they are to claw themselves off bottom spot in Group D.

The Greek outfit have won three of their last five European away games, though, including both away legs of their qualifiers for this competition this season as they overcame Partizan Belgrade and Rijeka.

Olympiacos's last group stage campaign before this season also saw them win two of their three away games - including a 3-2 triumph over Arsenal at the Emirates - although they did also lose 4-0 to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.

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

I am struggling to see anything other than a Barcelona win in this one. The hosts are in fine form and are coming up against an inferior team in pretty poor form themselves. It should be routine for Barca, who have the quality to pick through Olympiacos even if the visitors try to sit back and frustrate the hosts.

SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Barcelona 4-0 Olympiacos

Barcelona are in the group stages for a record-equalling 22nd time this season, while Olympiacos have graced this stage 18 times themselves, but surprisingly tonight will be the first ever meeting between the two sides.

Barca do have plenty of experience against other Greek opposition, though, and the omens are good for them having won nine and lost just two of their 12 previous meetings with Super League sides. That includes wins in each of their last three games - all of which came against Panathinaikos and which saw them score 13 goals in total, with Messi on the scoresheet in each of them.

Barca's unbeaten record against Greek opposition stretches back seven matches and includes six victories, while their record at home to Super League teams is a perfect six wins from six, scoring 26 goals and conceding only three.

In contrast, Olympiacos has never won in 14 previous visits to Spain, losing 12 of those and only coming away with so much as a draw on two occasions.

Olympiacos have lost on each of their five most recent trips to Spain too, with the last of those seeing them go down 4-0 at the hands of Atletico Madrid in the 2014-15 group stages of this competition.

You have to go back 12 years - to the 2004-05 Champions League group stages - for the last time Olympiacos avoided defeat on Spanish soil, earning a 0-0 draw with Deportivo La Coruna on that occasion.

The players are out and we're just about ready to get started at the Camp Nou. A quick reminder of the team news before we do get underway...

BARCELONA STARTING XI: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Digne; Paulinho, Busquets, Iniesta; Deulofeu, Suarez, Messi

OLYMPIACOS STARTING XI: Proto; Elabdellaoui, Botia, Nikolau, Koutris; Gillet, Romao, Zdjelar, Carcela-Gonzalez, Androutsos; Odjidja-Ofoe

KICKOFF: The rain is pouring in Barcelona as the hosts get us underway at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona, who have dominated the ball so far as you would expect, win an early free kick. This might just be out of Messi range, though...

Messi tries to clip it into the box from out on the right, but it hits the wall and Proto saves a corner for the visitors.

UPDATE: There has been an early goal elsewhere, and it has come for PSG with Kylian Mbappe breaking the deadlock against Anderlecht.

Five minutes in and Olympiacos has probably touched the ball once or twice so far. It has been one-way traffic in the opening exchanges, and I'd expect it to be a similar case throughout tonight.

CHANCE! Barca almost make the early breakthrough from a corner as Umtiti flicks it on at the near post. Suarez is always alive in the box and he launches himself at the ball, but just cannot steer it on target.

Deulofeu has already seen a lot of the ball down that right flank. Barcelona have broken in behind the Olympiacos defence on a few occasions already, but their crosses have so far been cut out.

This has been utter domination from the hosts so far. Olympiacos have every player behind the ball, but it feels like only a matter of time until Barca make the breakthrough if it carries on like this.

Referee Willie Collum has a word with Odjidja after a late challenge on Busquets - one of a few fouls we have seen from the visitors already tonight.

YELLOW CARD! The first card of the night goes to Pique though. The Barca defender got too tight to Odjidja and pulled him back cynically.

UPDATE: Big news from elsewhere in Group D, where an own goal from Alex Sandro has seen Sporting Lisbon take the lead against Juventus in Turin.

Elsewhere, Chelsea have broken the deadlock against Roma through David Luiz.

Barcelona had to play their last home match behind closed doors against Las Palmas, and the stadium is far from full again tonight. The weather perhaps playing a part there - it is still teeming down.

SHOT! Still no breakthrough for Barcelona, so Paulinho tries his luck from distance. He is under pressure but gets a good shot away which fizzes over the crossbar.

Barcelona finally have their breakthrough, and it is an own goal from Nikolaou which provides it.

With the conditions and the joy Barca have got down the flanks, there was always a danger of this happening. Deulofeu stays onside and volleys the ball across the box which Nikolaou has to try to clear. However, his attempted clearance skims off his shin and past a helpless Proto.

CHANCE! Barca almost make it two in as many minutes as again Deulofeu finds space down the right. This time he skips into the box before drilling a low strike towards goal, but the keeper has his angles right and makes the save.

UPDATE: Bayern Munich have also taken the lead at home to Celtic, with Thomas Muller getting the opening goal of the game in Bavaria.

OFF THE BAR! Barca are inches away from adding a second as Iniesta lifts a lovely ball into the box which finds Paulinho's run from deep. Paulinho beats the keeper with his header, but it strikes the crossbar as Olympiacos survive.

Brilliant block to deny Messi as an Olympiacos defender throws himself in the way of the Argentine's shot, preventing what looked like a certain goal. That second is coming, though.

UPDATE: Juventus have equalised in Turin, with Miralem Pjanic levelling things at 1-1 against Sporting in the group's other game tonight.

Elsewhere, Joshua Kimmich has doubled Bayern Munich's lead against Celtic, while Basel are not ahead against CSKA Moscow in Manchester United's group.

CHANCE! Another chance for Barca as Busquets meets Messi's free kick with a header, sending it over the bar when he may have been better leaving it for Messi behind him.

Olympiacos have done well to get to the half-hour mark with only a one-goal deficit in this match, but it is hard to see anything other than Barcelona going on to win more comfortably if this continues. Olympiacos have offered nothing going forward.

YELLOW CARD! Romao gets a belated yellow card for a late challenge on Suarez.

CHANCE! It should be 2-0 to Barcelona! Messi slips the ball through to Suarez, who only has the keeper to beat from inside the area, but Proto stays big and makes a fine save.

Olympiacos have very little desire to get forward tonight. They have approached this match in almost damage limitation mode from the first whistle, playing very defensively even since the opening goal went in.

SHOT! Just as I say that, Olympiacos have their first effort on the Barcelona goal! The ball drops to Odjidja on the left side of the area and he hooks a first-time volley towards goal which loops wide of the far post.

SAVE! Messi breaks into the box on the right side and cuts back onto his left foot before going for goal, but it is too close to the keeper this time.

UPDATE: Chelsea are bouncing back well from that shock defeat to Crystal Palace at the weekend, with Eden Hazard doubling their lead against Roma at Stamford Bridge...

...but Roma quickly get one back through Aleksandar Kolarov! It's 2-1 in West London now!

Lovely play from Suarez as he skips past his man on the right flank, but there are a lack of teammates to look for in the box and the attack comes to nothing.

Oh my word, what a turn of events at the Camp Nou - and this could be exactly the helping hand Olympiacos need!

It initially looks like Barca have finally got their second as Deulofeu's drilled low strike was only parried into the path of Pique, who turned the ball home from close range. However, the Scottish officials quickly disallow the goal and suddenly brandish another yellow card for the already-booked Pique.

The replay shows that Pique was not offside, but he put the ball in with his hand and that was the reason for disallowing it and giving the Spain international his marching orders.

That incident all happened very quickly and perhaps it was just a reaction from Pique, although in slow motion is looks stupid from the centre-back. His arm definitely moved towards the ball and nudged it over the line, which is foolish when you have already been booked. He has made things that bit more difficult for the hosts now.

There will be one minute of added time at the end of this first half.

Barcelona go into the break ahead at the Camp Nou, then, and while this has been an utterly one-sided affair so far, Olympiacos have been handed a glimmer of hope with that late red card for Gerard Pique.

Barcelona could - and should - be further ahead at the interval, but as things stand they have just the one-goal advantage despite dominating with 70% possession and 13 shots to Olympiacos's 1.

The only goal of the goal so far was an own goal too, with young defender Dimitrios Nikolaou turning the ball into his own net in these rainy conditions.

There was always the danger of that happening due to the rain and the amount of crosses Barcelona were getting into the box, with Deulofeu - who has been the standout player so far - providing the cross that led to the own goal.

Barcelona have also hit the crossbar through Paulinho and, although Olympiacos have been very defensive so far with 11 players packed behind the ball for the most part, the hosts have created some clear chances.

Luis Suarez has squandered another glorious one when he was denied one on one, while Deulofeu, Messi and Busquets have also had sights of goal.

Barcelona's task may be harder in the second half, though, with Ernesto Valverde's side being forced to play the rest of this match with just 10 men following a late red card for Gerard Pique in that opening 45 minutes.

The first yellow was shown for a cynical tug on Odjidja-Ofoe, but it was the second that proved most costly. Deulofeu's low strike was parried into the path of Pique, who bundled it over the line from close range. However, rather than being awarded the goal, Pique was given his marching orders after the Scottish officials has spotted that his turned the ball home with his hand.

KICKOFF: Olympiacos get us back underway for the second half, and the first thing to tell you is that Barcelona have made a change at the break with Javier Mascherano replacing Deulofeu, who had been the best player in that first half.

Already Olympiacos have seen about as much of the ball inside the Barcelona half as they did in the whole of the first half. You sense they feel they might just have half a chance with Barca down to 10, but the next goal is so important.

CHANCE! Early chance for Barcelona as Digne exchanges passes with Messi before hooking a cross in towards Suarez. The Uruguayan misses his kick at first but goes again for the second ball, losing out to the keeper.

UPDATE: Bayern Munich are responding well to that defeat at the hands of PSG in their last Champions League outing and now lead Celtic 3-0 at the Allianz Arena, with Hummels adding the third.

There is definitely a bit more attacking intent about Olympiacos so far in this second half, although Barcelona won't be too worried about that as it will only afford the likes of Messi and Suarez more space.

OLYMPIACOS SUB: An attacking change for the visitors! Uros Djurdjevic comes on and goes straight up front, replacing Gillet.

A scare for Barcelona for the first time - and a reminder that a one-goal lead is not safe whoever the opponent. Koutris gets down the left flank and puts a low ball into the box which is deflected right across the face of goal.

Credit to Olympiacos - these are spoiling tactics but they are defending a lot better so far in this second half. Iniesta almost finds space on the edge of the box, but he is immediately closed down by a fine block.

YELLOW CARD! Nikolaou is the latest name in the book for a challenge from behind on Messi. Free kick in a very good position for Messi here...

Messi punishes Olympiacos with his 100th European goal, and it is another free kick to add to his collection.

It is not the very best of his career, but it is good enough to make it past the keeper, who got a hand to it but could not keep it out. Messi gets it over the wall and, while it is not right in the corner, the keeper just cannot claw it away.

Barcelona needed that goal. They were set for an increasingly nervy final half an hour, but that pressure has eased somewhat now.

Messi has been quiet for much of the night, but he has burst into life in the last few minutes.

The Argentine maestro is the creator for this goal, skipping past one marker with his dazzling footwork before pulling the ball back into the area. It is just too far in front of Paulinho and Iniesta, but Digne is there to drill home his first Barca goal in this competition.

OLYMPIACOS SUB: The visitors make a change in the aftermath of that goal as Felipe Pardo replaces Carcela.

BARCELONA SUB: Barca make a change of their own as Ivan Rakitic comes on in place of Iniesta.

UPDATE: Goals from elsewhere to tell you about, with Manchester United breaking the deadlock against Benfica through Marcus Rashford.

Barcelona old boy Neymar has joined Mbappe and Cavani on the scoresheet to give PSG a 3-0 lead over Anderlecht, while Roma have come from two down to level things up against Chelsea.

CHANCES! Incredible double save from Proto to keep this at 3-0! Messi is again instrumental, but neither he nor Paulino can squeeze it past the keeper. That is a superb double stop from point-blank range!

OLYMPIACOS SUB: A third and final change for the visitors as Konstantinos Fortounis comes on in place of Odjidja-Ofoe.

UPDATE: It is turning into a classic at Stamford Bridge! Roma had taken the lead through Dzeko to move 3-2 ahead, but Chelsea have just equalised again through Hazard's second of the night.

Barcelona have killed this match off as a contest with those two quickfire goals. They are dominating possession again now and, if you didn't know otherwise, you wouldn't say the hosts are the team with 10 men here.

It is still 1-1 between Juventus and Sporting Lisbon in the other match in Group D, by the way, which means that as things stand Barcelona will be heading five points clear at the top of the group tonight.

BARCELONA SUB: The hosts make their third and final change of the night as Andre Gomes replaces Busquets.

This three-goal margin does not flatter Barcelona at all - indeed it should be more. Still, the hosts will be happy with a 3-0 Champions League win having been forced to play more than half of the match with 10 men.

CHANCE! Messi looks to improve that further as he exchanges a quick one-two with Suarez, but the return sends him a little wide and he blasts an effort over the crossbar.

Messi is just so quick on to any loose balls. He pounces on another here after Gomes's low cross was blocked, but his subsequent effort is also blocked.

SAVE! The resulting corner is met by Paulinho, but it lacks the power to really trouble the keeper.

More good goalkeeping from Proto, who has kept the score down tonight. Messi sends the ball through for Suarez, but the keeper is quickly off his line to get there first.

UPDATE: A big goal from elsewhere in Group D as Juventus grab what is surely a late winner against Sporting. PSG, meanwhile, are now 4-0 up against Anderlecht.

Well, he can at least say that he has scored at both ends at the Camp Nou. Dimitrios Nikolaou, who scored the earlier own goal, rises highest in the area and plants a really good header into the top corner. It won't change the result, but it is a memorable moment for the youngster.

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

Barcelona maintain their 100% start to this season's Champions League, then, and despite being forced to play more than half the match with 10 men it was all pretty straightforward for the hosts in the end this evening.

Despite their utter dominance in the first half they could only muster an own goal to take the lead before Gerard Pique was shown a red card, but second-half strikes from Lionel Messi and Lucas Digne finally took the game away from the visitors. Olympiacos did grab a stoppage-time consolation through Dimitrios Nikolaou - who had scored the earlier own goal - but they were comfortably second best tonight.

That is all we have time for tonight I'm afraid!

Thanks you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Barcelona move one step closer to qualifying for the last 16 with a 3-1 win over Olympiacos despite being reduced to 10 men in the first half. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.

From me, though, it is goodbye for now!