Barca’s stars will not start the biggest game of the season thus far in the Spanish league.
There are two surprises in the Gerardo Martino’s starting line-up: the absence of Messi and the absence of Neymar. In their places are Sánchez and Pedro.
Messi has only recently returned from a hamstring injury and played only half an hour in Barcelona’s last outing. Neymar, meanwhile, spent much of the week struggling with stomach problems and is yet to make a full recovery.
The two players will start from the bench in the game between La Liga’s top two sides, both on 49 points.
