Barça train ahead of Villarreal clash | Image: FCB |
After losing their first game of the year 2-1 to Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey, Barcelona will be looking to bounce back in an even bigger competition against a better opponent when they take on Villarreal at El Madrigal on Sunday night
Lucho has named 18 players in his squad that will travel to Madrid for the game and it’s a strong one, similar to the squad that faced Athletic Bilbao during the weekend. Jasper Cillessen is the only player that won’t be travelling with the squad due to injury while defender Jérémy Mathieu has received the medical greenlight but was left out for technical reasons.
Denis Suárez returns to the squad list after being left out of the Athletic game. Jordi Masip comes in place of the injured Cillessen. Star players including the MSN, Iniesta, Busquets and Gerard Pique all feature as expected but Ivan Rakitic was surprisingly left out of the squad for technical reasons.
BARÇA SQUAD VS VILLARREAL
Goalkeepers: Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Jordi Masip;
Defenders: Sergi Roberto, Javier Mascherano, Gerard Piqué, Samuel Umtiti, Lucas Digne, Jordi Alba;
Midfielders: André Gomes, Rafinha Alcántara, Sergio Busquets, Andrés Iniesta, Arda Turan, Denis Suárez;
Forwards: Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Neymar, Paco Alcácer