EPL was suspended on March 13 due to the pandemic and teams resumed training in small groups before voting last week to return to contact training ahead of a June 17 restart.
"What's important for me is to give the best of myself for my club, and we're looking forward for Leo (Messi) to return to continue scoring and winning matches."
Manchester City take on Chelsea and champions Manchester United meet West Ham United in the key fixtures of Saturday's programme in the English Premier League.
Fulham fixed their penalty jinx as Ivan Cavaleiro's spot kick eased them out of the relegation zone with a shock 2-1 win at high-flying Leicester City in the English Premier League on Monday.
The other semi-final will see an Italian side, Milan or Roma, come up against Bayer Leverkusen or West Ham.
Manchester United take on Everton at home in the last match of Saturday's programme.
Images from football matches played across Europe over the weekend.
Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud gave food for thought to Arsenal fans craving a new striker by scoring in a 3-1 Premier League win at Fulham on Saturday while Liverpool made it two victories from two games at Aston Villa.
Manchester United were humbled 1-0 by Norwich City and Chelsea upset at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday as champions Manchester City took advantage of their rivals' mistakes to go top with a 5-0 demolition of Aston Villa.
Manchester United were humbled 1-0 by Norwich City and Chelsea upset at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday as Premier League champions Manchester City took advantage of their rivals' mistakes with a 5-0 demolition of Aston Villa.
A preview of the top matches coming up in the English Premier League.
Christian Benteke struck twice to inspire Aston Villa to a shock 3-1 win at Arsenal on a dramatic opening day of the Premier League season on Saturday. Striker Daniel Sturridge scored and new goalkeeper Simon Mignolet saved a late penalty to earn Liverpool a deserved 1-0 win over Stoke City.
Liverpool take on Manchester United on Sunday, October 25, at 1930.
English Premier League matches between Saturday, October 3 and Tuesday, October 6.
A turbo-charged start yielding two goals in the opening 15 minutes and a spectacular effort by Tom Cleverley led Manchester United to a 3-0 victory at Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday.
A World Cup qualifier between Argentina and Brazil was suspended amid farcical scenes on Sunday after Brazilian health authorities accused a number of Premier League players of violating the country's COVID-19 quarantine rules.
Stoke City became the highest-profile casualty in the English League Cup second round when third-tier Swindon Town pulled off a dramatic 4-3 win late in extra time on Tuesday.
Norwich City's Jamal Lewis threw his relegation-threatened side a lifeline with a a 70th-minute goal to beat visiting Premier League high-flyers Leicester City 1-0 and secure a vital three points on Friday. Norwich remain bottom of the table but are now only four points from the safety zone -- three adrift of Watford and West Ham United with Aston Villa another point ahead.
Alex Ferguson says his current Manchester United model is a match for any of the previous editions that have rolled off the Old Trafford production line and should they win their last four games it would be hard to mount a case against him.
Robin van Persie turned a dream into reality after 13 minutes of Manchester United's 3-0 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Monday by scoring a memorable second of a first-half hat-trick as United went on to clinch their 20th league title.
Manchester United reclaimed their Premier League crown in style on Monday as Robin van Persie's hat-trick inspired a 3-0 win over Aston Villa that gave them an unassailable 16-point lead over Manchester City and erased the pain of last season.
Manchester United won their 20th league title when a Robin van Persie hat-trick led them to 3-0 victory over Aston Villa and gave them an unassailable 16-point lead over last season's Premier League champions Manchester City.
ManchesterCity manager Roberto Mancini says his side are not inferior to Manchester United despite a 3-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday giving their rivals the chance to clinch their 20th league title with four games to spare.
IMAGES from football matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played across England on Saturday.
Kevin de Bruyne struck twice to inspire Manchester City to a dominant 4-2 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday and move the champions level on points with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.
Premier League champions Manchester United continued their close-season restructuring and acquisition of home-grown talent when they signed Aston Villa and England forward Ashley Young on Thursday. Young, who agreed a five-year contract in a deal estimated to be worth around 15 million pounds, is manager Alex Ferguson's second June buy.
Millwall and Blackburn Rovers fought out a goalless stalemate in a scrappy FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday with both the Championship (second tier) sides going into the semi-final draw.
A summary of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League Knock-out phase play-offs.
Leaders Manchester United moved closer to a 20th title and pushed Queens Park Rangers nearer to relegation when goals from Rafael and Ryan Giggs gave them a 2-0 win at the bottom side in the Premier League on Saturday.
West Bromwich Albion right back Steven Reid played the second half of their 2-0 defeat at Arsenal in early December with a fractured fibula, manager Steve Clarke said on Thursday.
Freezing temperatures and heavy snow have forced the postponement of this week's League Cup semi-final first leg matches.
Harry Redknapp's salvage operation at Queens Park Rangers started with a battling 0-0 draw at fellow strugglers Sunderland in a dour Premier League match on Tuesday.
Stunning hat-tricks from Dimitar Berbatov and Robin van Persie moved Manchester United and Arsenal ahead in the Premier League title race as strikers took the spotlight on Saturday.
Stunning hat-tricks from Dimitar Berbatov and Robin van Persie moved Manchester United and Arsenal ahead in the Premier League title race as strikers took the spotlight on Saturday.
Manchester City's long winning run in the Premier League finally came to an end
Images from English Premier League matches played on Sunday.
Premier League champions Manchester City and in-form Everton were both sent packing from the League Cup on Tuesday, their respective managers paying the price for making wholesale changes to their starting line-ups for the third round ties.
