Gerard Pique Returns to Barcelona Squad After Missing Two Games Through Injury

FC Barcelona will be a little more solid in defense on Saturday with the return of center-back Gerard Pique.

The 25-year-old suffered a thigh injury during his team's 3-1 win over AC Milan in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on April 3rd.

Pique missed two league matches during his recovery, with Javier Mascherano deputizing effectively on both occasions.

But just a short time ago, Barcelona's official website reported that medical staff have declared Pique fully fit for Saturday's match against Levante.

It's the second bit of good news for Pep Guardiola, as he also gets marauding right-back Dani Alves returning from injury for the weekend.

Barcelona currently sit four points behind league leaders Real Madrid. Both teams have six games remaining in their La Liga seasons.

One of those matches looms largest, as the two Spanish giants will meet for the season's second El Clasico on April 21st at the Nou Camp.

As the gap at the top has narrowed, Guardiola has gone from declaring the title an "impossible" task to saying that Barcelona cannot drop points if they hope to take the league.

"Is winning the Liga still possible?" Guardiola asked reporters today. "You know what I think. We'll just try to stay in contention for as long as we can. But if we make a mistake, we're out..."

The shift in their manager's rhetoric will not have gone unnoticed among Barcelona's players. And the return of Pique and Alves will increase confidence as they look to deny Jose Mourinho his first La Liga title.