The Catalans will be aiming for a fourth consecutive league win when they play Villarreal on Sunday. Luis Enrique's men have not suffered a defeat since their 2-1 loss at the hands of Sevilla in October. That was the first match Barcelona played without their talismanic forward Lionel Messi.
However Barcelona have learnt to cope up without their star man and have won six out of eight games in all competitions following Messi's injury. Luis Suarez and Neymar in particular have been vital to the side's success having contributed 17 out of the 20 goals in this period.
Whereas Luis Enrique has claimed that his side is better with Messi, he has insisted that Barcelona have improved despite his absence.
"That we are dependent on Messi is just something the press keeps on mentioning. Of course, we are better with Messi, but we have shown that we can cope without him," the Barca coach said.
"We have a great team and everybody has stepped up in his absence. Irrespective of who is unavailable, we have a great team both defensively and in attack.
"The team made a step beyond without Messi.
"We are more than just Neymar and Suarez. We should also look at how much the defence and midfield contributes."
The Spaniard further claimed that Messi's road to recovery is on track and that he will not be rushed back.
"Messi's recovery is going very well," he added.
"Of course, I would prefer to have everyone available all the time, but the player's health always comes first. There is nothing worse for an injured player than a recovery setback.
"Injured players will not be rushed back. They will return when they are"
Villareal on the other hand have tasted defeat in all of their last five visits in all competitions to Camp Nou. They will have Roberto Soldado available for selection after the striker had a decision to be suspended for receiving five yellow cards over turned.
Eric Bailly however will serve a ban, whereas the visitors are also likely to be without Adrian Lopez (hamstring), Mateo Musacchio (broken leg) and Sergio Asenjo (knee).
Ivan Rakitic suffered a calf injury during the midweek win over BATE and will not be available for selection. Javier Mascherano will also miss the match due to suspension with Rafinha ruled out for the entire season with a knee injury.
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