Bayer Leverkusen vs. Barcelona: Star Players Who Must Step Up for Barca

Now that Barcelona has fallen 10 points behind rival Real Madrid in the La Liga title chase, Champions League play becomes even more important.

A road clash with Bayer Leverkusen kicks off Round of 16 play, and it's important they get off to a good start before heading home for the second leg.

Here are three players who must step up for Barca to pick up a crucial victory.

Cesc Fabregas

Xavi is struggling with a calf issue, so even if he suits up, he probably won't be able to live up to his usual high standards. That places a bigger burden on Fabregas to create scoring chances from strong play in the midfield.

He's adapted nicely to Barcelona with nine goals and six assists in 17 league games, but his play in the Champions League has been far less dynamic with just a single tally in four games. He needs to be more aggressive on the attack today, especially if Xavi is forced to sit out.

There's no reason he shouldn't be able to control the pace of the game as Bayer Leverkusen hunkers back and hopes to strike on the counterattack. Using that possession effectively will be the key.

Gerard Pique

Barca's back line was a mess against Osasuna, which led to a shocking 3-2 loss on Saturday and put the team's title hopes in serious jeopardy. Any time the defense fails, Pique comes under heat, because his job in the middle is to keep everybody on the same page.

Pique is one of the top centre-backs in the world, but he wasn't as dominating as fans have come to expect, and it came back to haunt Barcelona. The key now is rebounding right away with an outstanding performance in helping to shut down the Werkself attack.

Their offense has been struggling, scoring just three goals in their last three games, so it's a goal Pique should be able to achieve if he can get the disappointment of Saturday out of his mind.

Victor Valdes

Valdes will be under a lot of pressure from now until season's end. The Barca defense has shown it's prone to lapses, which will put him under fire more often than he's become accustomed to in recent years while the team was simply running over opponents.

If Barcelona is going to make a run at another Champions League title, there will be games where Valdes will need to make a couple marquee saves to keep his team in it. Today might be one of those times, judging by the back line's performance the last time out.

He's proven up to the task before, so he's certainly capable of standing on his head again. All told, he doesn't have much other choice if Barca is going to salvage the campaign.