How quickly can Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann work their magic together?

FC Barcelona fans will get to see Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann team up in the attack on Matchday 2, and they will hope that the two forwards can get on the same page quickly after La Blaugrana sorely missed Messi in their opening loss to Athletic Bilbao.

Expectations are once again sky high for FC Barcelona in the 2019-2020 season, as last season’s dominance of La Liga simply wasn’t enough to satiate the fans at Camp Nou. Barcelona’s collapse against Liverpool in the Champions League and Copa del Rey Final defeat to Valencia marred an exceptional domestic campaign, and Barca responded by signing Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong for nearly 200 million euros combined.

At 22, de Jong will undoubtedly be an excellent center midfielder one day, but Griezmann is the player Barcelona are counting on to be a superstar immediately. The former Atletico Madrid ace didn’t imprint himself in his new team’s first game of the season, as Barcelona were shut out in a 1-0 loss to Athletic Bilbao.

Barcelona clearly missed Lionel Messi in their opener, as the masterful Argentine forward was still working his way back from a calf injury. However, Messi has returned to training and could be ready to make his return to the lineup in time for Matchday 2 on Sunday against Real Betis.

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Betis themselves are coming off of a disappointing opening loss in big transfer Nabil Fekir’s debut, but they have enough talent in their starting lineup to be of danger to Barca, even at Camp Nou.

Crucially, Barcelona need Griezmann and Messi to get on the same page immediately. Messi may not be 100-percent healthy in his first game back from a calf injury, but knowing how special of a player is and how much grit he has, Messi should make a profound impact upon his return. Barca looked hopelessly lost without him against Bilbao, so even a, say, 90-percent Messi would be an incomprehensible upgrade.

But he’ll need Griezmann to live up to his reputation as a goal-scoring threat and danger off the ball. Chemistry among attackers is always important, but it matters all that much more in a precise attack like Barcelona’s. Messi’s passing and runs require accurate timing, and the pressure will be on Griezmann to be on the same wavelength as Barcelona’s living legend.

Compounding the importance of the interplay between Griezmann and Messi is the fact that both Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele will miss a few weeks with injuries. Barcelona are still reportedly working on convincing PSG to give them Neymar on a permanent deal or loan, and La Blaugrana already sent Malcom to Zenit. So their attacking depth has been tested with the injuries to Suarez and Dembele.

In the short-term, this puts more pressure on Griezmann and the returning Messi in an important get-right fixture at home against Betis. The last thing Barca want is to miss out on the full three points in their first two fixtures, as Joao Felix has Atletico Madrid in position to make a strong title push. Furthermore, continued incompetence in the league from Real Madrid can’t last forever, so Barca do need to pick up the points where they can.

This isn’t a “must-win” situation for Barcelona, and Messi and Griezmann have time to gel beyond a Matchday 2 contest with Betis. But it would be ideal for two of the world’s most thrilling attacking players to get on the same page as soon as possible, if not for the simple fact that it would be spellbinding attacking play from a neutral’s perspective. Given how dominant Messi was in 2018-2019, Barca’s attack could be that much better in 2019-2020 if Griezmann can quickly flourish as Messi’s right-hand man.