Barcelona are once again without inspirational captain Carles Puyol for the Champions League clash with Spartak Moscow at the Camp Nou.
Puyol suffered a knee injury against Getafe at the weekend and misses out, while Barca boss Tito Vilanova welcomes back Alexis Sanchez from a thigh injury.
The Chilean will start on the bench alongside David Villa, with earlier reports indicating Vilanova was toying with the idea of including him in his starting line-up, but Jordi Alba is again ruled out after a bout of flu and Gerard Deulofeu, Andreu Fontas and Jonathan Dos Santos are all omitted.
Spartak boss Unai Emery has never beaten the Catalans in 12 attempts with Valencia and Almeria, but names a two-man attack in Emmanuel Emenike and Ari, with former Glasgow Celtic man Aiden McGeady out wide.
Emery will be hoping to emulate fellow Russian side Rubin Kazan, who were the last team to beat Barca in a Champions League game at home back in October 2009.
Starting line-ups
Barcelona: Valdes; Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Adriano; Xavi, Busquets, Fabregas; Pedro, Messi, Tello
Spartak Moscow: Dykan; Insaurralde, K.Kombarov, Suchy, Carioca; McGeady, Kallstrom, D. Komarov, Romulo; Ari, Emenike
