Barcelona: Lionel Messi is set for his first start for nearly two months when Barcelona, fresh from pulverising Real Madrid 4-0 at the weekend, set their sights on Champions League qualification when AS Roma visit the Nou Camp on Tuesday.

A draw will be enough for last season's treble winners, five points clear at the top of Group E, to reach the last 16 for a 12th consecutive season and have Messi ready to start having come on as a substitute against Real on Saturday.

Messi had been out injured since the end of September but Barca have coped well without their talisman with strike partners Neymar and Luis Suarez in blistering form.

Suarez hit two and Neymar got another in the demolition of Real, taking the pair's total to 19 goals in seven games.

"It was a great performance. We can enjoy it now but we have some very difficult games ahead starting with Roma," midfielder Ivan Rakitic, who returned after a calf injury, told reporters.

"Messi is a very important player and thank god he is back playing with us. His injury (knee ligament) was more serious than mine and he needed longer to recover but we all know how vital he is to the team."

Roma and Barca drew 1-1 in the Italian capital in September.

Suarez gave Barca the lead but Alessandro Florenzi scored an extraordinary goal from a seemingly impossible position on the right touchline, nearly 50 metres from goal, to level. Roma, second in the group one point ahead of Bayer Leverkusen and two clear of BATE Borisov, were held 2-2 in heavy rain on Saturday by lowly Bologna and are fourth in Serie A.

Elsewhere, John Terry believes Chelsea's fortunes could be changing at a timely moment as the struggling English champions travel to Israel with the prospect of securing qualification for the knock-out stages.

The Blues' captain was in upbeat mood after Chelsea's 1-0 Premier League win over Norwich City on Saturday relieved some pressure on the London giants after their dismal start to the season.

Terry believes that the win could help re-energise their season, starting with a victory against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Tuesday which would secure Chelsea's qualification from Group G should Porto not lose to Dynamo Kiev on the same night.

"We have three points on the board now in the Premier League and switch focus to the Champions League again," Terry told Chelsea TV. "With that in mind and the importance of qualifying it's all there for everyone to go and do.

"We're delighted to win. Relieved as well. Hopefully, we can put ourselves on a good run of games now and climb up this table. We can build on this now and hopefully get another win in the Champions League on Tuesday."

Qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League would represent further welcome respite and Maccabi, who are bottom of Group G without having picked up a single point in their four games, should hold few concerns. Chelsea's London rivals Arsenal's manager Arsene Wenger still believes his side have a "strong chance" to qualify for the Champions League last 16 for a 16th consecutive season as the Premier League side and Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb face a do-or-die contest.

With both sides struggling at the foot of Group F, each six points adrift of Bayern Munich and Olympiakos Piraeus, their chances will be buried unless one of them can win at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday. Even then, they have to rely on the prospect that Bayern and Olympiakos do not play out a draw at the Allianz Arena.

Yet Wenger's hopes will have been raised by a period of turmoil for Zagreb, who were hit by two scandals in a space of three days last week. Their chief executive Zdravko Mamic was arrested on Wednesday for alleged transfer irregularities, while midfielder Arijan Ademi was handed a four-year doping ban on Friday after testing positive following Dinamo's 2-1 home win over Arsenal in September.

Wenger is remaining optimistic that his side, whose faltering form continued with a 2-1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, can still overcome long odds and continue their remarkable record of consistently reaching the last 16. "If you ask my deep gut feeling, I want to stay in the Champions League," the Frenchman told reporters when asked if failing to make the last 16 might actually aid their Premier League title ambitions.

TUESDAY’S MATCHES

GROUP E
BATE Borisov vs Lerverkusen; Barcelona vs Roma

GROUP F
Arsenal vs Dinamo Zagreb; Bayern Munich vs Olympiakos

GROUP G
FC Porto vs Dynamo Kiev; Maccabi vs Chelsea

GROUP H
Zenit St Petersburg vs Valencia; Lyon vs Ghent