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Barcelona will be aiming to keep their ten point lead over Atletico Madrid in the La Liga table when they face Villarreal at Estadio de la Cerámica on Tuesday. The Blaugrana overcame Espanyol in the second half, courtesy to a brace from the Skipper Lionel Messi at Nou Camp on Saturday.
The yellow submarines have been fairly inconsistent throughout this season, sitting 17th in the La Liga table this campaign. They have won their last three games out of possible six and have progressed to the Quarterfinals of the Europa League too.
On the other hand, Ernesto Valverde's men are first in the league table as they on the course of the second straight league triumph. Their defenders need to be in full concentration as the hosts have been great in scoring goals, but their lack of defensive shape has been the biggest downfall in recent months.
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Injuries
Rafinha and Jasper Cillessen are long-term absentees, whilst Ousmane Dembele will not be fit for this clash as he is expected to return in a week.
Bruno Soriano, Miguel Trigueros, Miguelon, Gerard Moreno, and Jaume Costa will not be taking part in this game.
Suspensions
Neither team has any suspensions.
Player form
Cameroonian striker Karl Toko Ekambi having scored three goals in last two La Liga outings. The individual quality of the midfielders Santi Cazorla and Vicente Iborra will come into play as they are the major transition assisters in the middle of the park.
Skipper Lionel Messi has been the best player this season by scoring 31 goals in the league alone, most recently a brace against Espanyol on Saturday. Luis Suarez has been off the radar this season, but he has mustered out 18 goals from 28 games despite not being on his best.
Likely XI
Villarreal: Sergio Asenjo, Mario Gaspar Pérez, Álvaro González, Víctor Ruiz, Xavier Quintillà Guasch, Alfonso Pedraza, Manu Morlanes, Santi Cazorla, Vicente Iborra, Samuel Chukwueze, Karl Toko Ekambi.
Barcelona: Marc Andre Ter Stegen, Sergio Roberto, Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Arthur Melo, Ivan Rakitic, Lionel Messi, Philippe Coutinho, Luis Suarez.
