Barcelona’s best player will miss the match against Sevilla?

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Barcelona’s La Liga clash with Sevilla in November could be hit with seven withdrawals should Argentina be involved in a World Cup qualifying playoff.

Jorge Sampaoli’s national team currently sit fifth in the standings with two games remaining and should they finish in that position, they would enter a two-legged playoff fixture in November.

FIFA have scheduled the first leg for Monday, November 6 – following the weekend of matchday 11 fixtures in La Liga, with players having to join their national setup four days in advance of the game.

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Barcelona pair Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano would therefore be unavailable for that weekend’s action, alongside Sevilla quintet Gabriel Mercado, Ever Banega, Guido Pizarro, Joaquin Correa and Nico Pareja.

This news is carried in several Spanish media outlets this week, including Marca, yet none mention the likelihood of the match being postponed in order to facilitate these national call-ups.

Uruguay, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Chile and Paraguay are other sides who could yet finish fifth, which covers a total of 25 Spanish-based players across 12 clubs.

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