Lionel Messi will start on the bench for the first time this season after a slight muscle injury renders the Argentine unfit to start Barcelona's match against Villarreal. Everyone saw a potential Messi absence coming after he was withdrawn from Argentina's game against Costa Rica, but he isn't the only major absence for Pep Guardiola's side. Xavi Hernandez is nowhere to be seen and nobody's really very sure why, which can only be an encouraging development for the hosts.
Villarreal Vs. Barcelona, Lineups: Messi And Xavi Both Absent From Barcelona Starting XI
Villerreal will counter this weakened but still-dangerous Barcelona side with a fairly standard 4-4-2. They'll be relying on Guiseppi Rossi and Nilmar to cause the visitors' Carlos Puyol-less back line some issues while attempting to keep David Villa, Andres Iniesta, and Ibrahim Afellay at bay with a stout defensive line. With Messi and Xavi out, Barcelona don't look like overwhelming favourites... but they're still favourites to win here and put the La Liga race beyond doubt.
Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdés; Alves, Piqué, Busquets, Adriano; Thiago, Mascherano, Keita; Afellay, Villa, Iniesta.
Substitutes: Pinto, Montoya, Fontas, Milito, Jonathan dos Santos, Bojan, Messi.
Villarreal (4-4-2): Diego Lopez; Carlos Marchena, Gonzalo, Joan Capdevila, Mario Gaspar Pérez Martínez; Bruno, Borja Valero, Santi Cazorla, Cani; Giuseppe Rossi, Nilmar.
Substitutes: Cicinho, Juan Carlos, Marco Rubén, José Manuel Catalá, Wakaso Mubarak, Kiko, Mateo Musacchio
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