OFFICIAL STARTING XI BARCELONA VS LIVERPOOL

• Arturo Vidal sensationally starts in the midfield instead of Arthur.
• Sergi Roberto and Philippe Coutinho both start as well.

Ernesto Valverde names his strongest squad to face Liverpool in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals.

As it was expected earlier, he opts for the possession-orientated football and includes Sergi Roberto and Philippe Coutinho among the starting XI.

Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen; Alba, Lenglet, Pique, Roberto; Vidal, Busquets, Rakitic; Coutinho, Suarez, Messi.

There were rumours that Arthur is set to start instead of Vidal, however, the coach decides otherwise.

The starting lineups are in for Wednesday's gigantic Champions League semifinal showdown between Barcelona and Liverpool at the Camp Nou. The first-leg battle is set for 3 p.m. ET -- stream via  fuboTV (Try for free) -- and neither team is fielding any big surprises, but one of Liverpool's stars didn't make the starting XI. 

The big lineup story leading up to this onewas whether Roberto Firmino would play at all, but the Brazilian striker isn't in the starting lineup for Liverpool. He's been named to the bench after missing out on the team's last league game as he recovers from an ankle injury, but there's a chance he'll come on as a substitute. 

Here are the lineups:

Barcelona: Marc-Andre Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Gerard Piqué, Clement Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal; Lionel Messi. Luis Suárez, Philippe Coutinho

Liverpool: Alisson; Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson; Fabinho, James Milner, Georginio Wijnaldum, Naby Keita; Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah