“Life is good”, “We’re winning” – Barcelona fans delighted with Xavi for benching midfielder against Villarreal

Barcelona are set to face seventh-placed Villarreal at Camp Nou for their La Liga midweek clash on Thursday (October 20), and the Blaugrana supporters are pleased about a change in the lineup.

Manager Xavi Hernandez has chosen to bench Sergio Busquets against the Yellow Submarine, which has seen Barca fans take to Twitter to praise the decision.

The legendary defensive midfielder has struggled to find form for Barcelona in recent weeks, making notable defensive errors that have angered the fans. Taking to Twitter, the Camp Nou faithful hailed Xavi's decision, with many happy to see Busquets on the bench.

Here is a selection of their tweets:

Sergio Busquets won't be the only legendary Barcelona player to face the ignominy of starting on the bench under his former teammate this season. Jordi Alba has started just four games for the club all season, while Gerard Pique has only three La Liga appearances under his belt.

While Busquets has enjoyed significant gametime, having started seven La Liga games, he will need to improve his performances to ensure he retains his place.

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Barcelona prepare for tough test against Villarreal

Despite being the team that will come into the match with a win, history suggests that Villarreal will find a positive result hard to come by against Blaugrana today.

Unai Emery’s side will take on the Catalan club who are currently smarting from their recent 3-1 loss away to Real Madrid. Villarreal will hope their defense, the tightest in the league with only three goals conceded, keeps Barca's attack at bay.

Xavi will have a much different issue on his hands, with his defense being particularly shaky over the last five games. The Blaugrana have conceded seven in those games, with six goals conceded in the two games leading up to this.

History, however, remains on Barca's side, with the Catalans coming out victorious in 19 previous encounters. The Blaugrana, in fact, have only lost to Villarreal once in their 24 previous meetings.

Villarreal will however hope that they can grab a famous result in Catalonia today, with Barcelona looking slightly weakened on paper. However, Xavi will be keen to close the six-point gap on eternal rivals Real Madrid at the top of the table.

Barcelona will also hope that a performance against last season’s champions league semi-finalists could provide a sufficient morale boost to help the team bounce back.