Barcelona vs Valencia: Gerard Pique Will Dominate in Return to Barca Lineup

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique is the best center back in the world and returns to the club's starting XI this weekend after not making the squad for Wednesday's Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen.

Pique was one of the worst players in Barca's last La Liga match, a 3-2 loss to Osasuna, which combined with Real Madrid's win, dropped the defending Spanish champions 10 points out of the lead in the table.

The young center back will have a chance to redeem himself against Valencia on Sunday and, as a fierce competitor, it's sure to be a challenge that Pique will relish.

Despite his poor play against a club Barca had destroyed several times this season, manager Pep Guardiola still has a lot of confidence in his young defender going forward.

He said the following about Pique, via Soccernet:

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"On Sunday we don't have Mascherano or Alves. I couldn't afford to lose Gerard. Pique knows that I have lots of love for him. For us, he's untouchable.'' 

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Valencia is a top team in Spain and are regularly qualifiers for the Champions League. They are currently third in the La Liga table despite losing some immense talents over the last few years, such as David Villa and David Silva.

Valencia has scored the third most goals in Spain this season, but with Pique back in the Barca team, I expect him to do his part in shutting down the Valencia attack.

Pique is a tremendous defender for several reasons, two of which being his strength and football intelligence. He's also a very good passer and excels in front of goal thanks to his days as an attacking player when he was still in school.

With his return to the lineup, Pique will give Barca a boost in defense and a leader in the defending third of the pitch. After a difficult week, Pique will return to Barcelona on Sunday and return to his world class level of play.