Lionel Messi's match-winning gene can inspire European champions Barcelona to victory over Estudiantes in the Club World Cup final today (17.00 Malta time), according to the Spanish side's coach Pep Guardiola.

Barcelona are clear favourites to become world club champions at the third attempt and deny Libertadores Cup holders Estudiantes their second title and first since they beat Manchester United in 1968.

"He carries in his blood a competitive gene, to be the best, to settle matches," Guardiola said after Barcelona came from a goal down to beat Atlante of Mexico in the semi-final with Messi scoring the second goal two minutes after coming on as a substitute.

Messi, an injury doubt before the match against the CONCACAF champions, is almost certain to start against the Argentine team with midfielder Andres Iniesta ruled out due to a thigh muscle injury.

About 5,000 Estudiantes fans, including two who were at Old Trafford for the team's 1968 crowning, have made the trip to Abu Dhabi while Barcelona, who lost the 1992 and 2006 finals, will enjoy most neutral support in an expected 45,000 capacity crowd at Zayed Sports City.

The closing day's double-header begins with Asian champions Pohang Steelers meeting Atlante for third place (14.00 Malta time).

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.