Why Barcelona Should Start Lionel Messi on the Bench Against Real Madrid

The decision becomes harder for Luis Enrique with each passing day. Should Lionel Messi start for Barcelona in the Clasico?

Firstly, he needs to receive his medical clearance. That seems likely to happen, with the player doing everything in his power to get fit for Barcelona's clash with Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday night.

Lucho gave the Barcelona players not on international duty Friday, Saturday and Sunday off to recharge their batteries. But Messi did not consider slowing down.

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Instead, he turned up to training on Friday and joined Gerard Lopez's Barcelona B training group as they prepared for their clash with Badalona. He did the same on Saturday.

The coach spoke about Messi afterward, per Sport, saying he seemed in good shape and joking that he would have liked to call him up for the clash:

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Leo completed the training sessions. I saw him well, and I'm happy that his recovery seems positive. I see him content and lively. The training was the same that we are used to doing before a game. We didn't change because Messi was there.

For the youth players it was a great excitement to be able to train with the best player in history, although some of them already knew him. You already know that some often go up to train with the first team and are used to being with him.

Messi adapted to our training and that included joining in the tactical aspects to prepare for the game. I'm delighted that he could take advantage of the two sessions with us and didn't miss two days of work of his recovery.

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It shows Messi's commitment to starring in the game. And when the best player in world football is determined to play, you can't stop him, right?

But it might make more sense for Barcelona to start the match at the Bernabeu with Messi on the bench, primarily for safety reasons.

Clasicos are rarely not brutal encounters. If Messi plays, the strength of his left knee will be tested to the limit by whichever Madrid players take the field.

That is not to say they would do anything illegal, but given some of the treatment Messi has received in prior Clasicos when he has been perfectly healthy, there is no doubt that he will be faced without mercy.

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Messi has been out of action since September 26, which will be nearly two months when the Clasico comes around next weekend. Bringing him back in a game of such brutal intensity is dangerous regardless of his desire to play in it.

If you asked Luis Enrique, he would prefer to lose the game and have a fit Messi at his service after that than win the game and have Messi broken again.

After all, Barcelona head into the clash with a three-point lead on Real Madrid, so the worst off they could be is joint top of the table on 27 points afterward.

Without any match rhythm, Messi might take a while to find his footing in the game, and although you would never pick out the Argentinian as someone who would let the team down, it may cede control of the match to Madrid in the first period.

There is also the form of Neymar and Suarez to take into account. Those two have been sublime, with the former running things from a creative point of view for Barcelona. Of course, Barcelona are stronger with Messi added to the mix, but those two have something good going on, and perhaps it's better to maintain the same structure that has allowed them to be so effective.

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Barcelona are now playing a lot better as a team than they were two months ago, so for the sake of momentum, it may be worth keeping the current balance in a game as tricky as the Clasico. If it were one of La Liga's lesser lights at the Camp Nou, it would be a different story, and bringing Messi back to get him involved with the team's current run of form would be sensible.

Finally, having him on the bench will be a terrifying weapon. At any point, Barcelona could introduce him to the game to change it completely. It gives them a key roll of the dice, a second chance. They might be able to see off Madrid without him, but if they can't, there he is, ready to bring on.

They did the same against Atletico Madrid when he had been away on international duty and then at the birth of his second child. On came Messi in the second half. Atletico panicked, and he scored the winner. That scenario would suit Barcelona down to the ground on Saturday night.