Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are absent from Barcelona’s squad for the first leg of their Copa del Rey tie at Levante.
Barca, who have won the tournament four years in a row, go to Ciutat de Valencia in the last 16 on Thursday.
But they will do so without two of their leading lights as Ernesto Valverde has opted not to name Messi and Suarez in his squad.
Jeison Murillo, a loan signing from Valencia, is in the group after being an unused substitute in a 2-1 win against Getafe last time out, Messi and Suarez scoring the goals.
Munir El Haddadi is another absentee after Valverde indicated the striker, whose contract expires at the end of the season, has played his last game for the club.
Valverde suggested at a pre-match news conference he was considering using midfielder Arturo Vidal in a more advanced role against Levante.
1 Comment
I watched Moses Simon play left wing-back in this match yesterday against Barcelona and he was quite decent in his performance.
If nothing, I was able to say the defensive aspect of his game to appreciate Moses’all round versatility.
His positioning was good and his take-ons were decent but he was a bit rigid at times. I had expected him to use his incredible speed to run into space but this wasn’t forthcoming.
All in all, he played well in that role.
Eurosports.com rated Simon as 5/10.
According to Aio football, “Moses had a game rating of 7.1, completed 75% of his passes, created one big chance and also completed four of his seven dribbles.
He also brought his defensive strength to the game as he won 9 duels, made one clearance, 3 interceptions and also completed two of his three tackles”