A record crowd of more than 65,000 is expected at Gillette Stadium Saturday night and it appears ticket buyers will get exactly what they were hoping for, a chance to see Lionel Messi in person as he leads first-place Inter Miami against the last-place New England Revolution.

There was some question from fans and media as to whether Messi and Luis Suarez would subject their aging legs to artificial turf; but Inter Miami coach Tata Martino put that concern to rest on Friday morning.

“The players are all available, all the healthy players will travel, and then we’ll see the formation to face New England,” Martino said. “We already played on artificial turf in Charlotte last season and there was no problem.”

Messi played the full 90 minutes against Charlotte in that game. He has played at Gillette before, when he scored during Argentina’s 4-1 win over Venezuela in the 2016 Copa America Centenario quarterfinals. But that game was played on a temporary grass field that was placed over the turf, per FIFA rules.

Revolution coach Caleb Porter, calling Saturday’s match “the biggest game in Boston soccer history,” expects Messi to play.

“That’s our mindset, that he will play,” Porter said earlier this week. “They haven’t played on turf this year, but he played last year in Charlotte. So, our mindset is that he is going to play.”

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner ranks second in the league with seven goals in six games and is tied for the MLS lead with six assists. League leader Cristian Arango of Real Salt Lake has scored one more goal than Messi but played in three more games.

Last weekend Messi scored two goals and had an assist in a 3-1 home win over Nashville.

“You don’t stop Messi, but it’s can you limit his touches in key areas? Because when he’s in key areas around the box, he is lethal,” Porter said. “He is unstoppable in some ways, so we just have to do it by committee.

“We’re not going to man-mark him. We have to do it by committee in the zones. He floats everywhere, so wherever he floats, be aware. Can we get guys around him and make it a game where he’s not where he wants to be?”

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