Champions League and domestic success is typically a sign of a squad bursting with competitiveness but with Barcelona that’s far from the case.

Pep Guardiola did not have the luxury of having three world-class centre-backs in his ranks last season, in fact, Barcelona on several occasions resorted to playing Javier Mascherano or Sergio Busquets alongside Gerard Pique.

It was a similar story in attack. Bojan has not been handed the burden of leading Barcelona’s line, instead, that duty fell to new recruit David Villa.

Expectation surrounding the Spaniard dictated that he would continue his form from former club Valencia to the Camp Nou, but, statistically, he’s not yet achieved that high level.

For an inaugural season in a new formation (Valencia normally play 4-4-2), Villa has displayed signs that he is still adapting to being part of an interchangeable trio in attack. He no longer leads the line with the authority he carried at his former club, instead Villa is expected to drift outside, and his play outside of the box at Barcelona is as important as his prowess inside.

Villa still remains capable of achieving over 20 goals in a season (he scored 23 last term for his club), but would he be able to lead the line in Lionel Messi’s absence? His six-game drought from the end of march hints that Guardiola may need a back-up plan, should the mesmeric Argentine fall absent.

Villarreal fell far behind the pace of Valencia and eventually settled for fourth spot, but their ability to seal the coveted spot was largely down to Giuseppe Rossi.

The Italian never went more than four games without a goal last season, and his record last season of 32 shows why Barcelona have invested a strong interest.

The comparison with Villa is quite contrasting, considering they are of a similar mould of a striker intended to lead an attack. In the assists count, the Barcelona man shaded it with six, while Rossi set up five. But that’s where the similarities end.

Statistics show Rossi is a more capable finisher, requiring just 2.6 shots per game to Villa’s 3.3. The Italian also beats the Barcelona striker in key passes per game with 1.75 to 0.97. Although he’s two centimetres shorter, Rossi has a markedly increased aerial duel success rate too, 31% to his counterparts 21%. Although, with this statistic, Villa’s low record is partially down to the style of play adopted by Guardiola’s side as they rarely cross from the wings.

Rossi also wins a significant number of fouls more than Villa per game, 2.3 to 0.7, while his tendency to dribble is also higher as he 1.8 successful dribbles per game to Villa’s 0.8, although again, Barcelona’s play is more dictated by passes, which means Villa’s will to run with the ball would be reduced.

Villa does trump his potential Camp Nou team-mate in one area, however, as he is dispossessed 1.6 times per game, while Rossi’s count his significantly higher at 3.3.

The duo share the same WhoScored.com average match rating of 7.27, while their pass success rate is the same at 79%, which for Villa, is the lowest out of any Barcelona outfield player by 6%.