Barcelona’s revolution under Xavi has suffered a bump in the road over the last week after two straight defeats.
Last Thursday, the Blaugrana were stunned by a 3-2 home loss against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League that saw them eliminated from the competition at the quarter-final stage.
Then, this past weekend, they suffered a 1-0 defeat, again at Camp Nou, at the hands of lowly Cadiz, who actually climbed out of the relegation zone with the victory.
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Against Cadiz, the untested central defensive pairing of Eric Garcia and Clement Lenglet had to be deployed. Barca’s defence as a whole was awful and Cadiz probably should have scored more.
However, Xavi will be boosted by the return of Ronald Araujo from injury, while Gerard Pique could be in contention to return after a groin issue.
Dani Alves will likely be restored to the starting XI at right-back in place of Sergino Dest, with Jordi Alba continuing at left-back.
With Pedri set to miss the rest of the season due to a hamstring problem, the midfield three of Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong and Gavi picks itself at the moment.
Xavi will likely make some alterations in the final third, though, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang replacing Memphis Depay in the centre-forward position.
Ferran Torres and Ousmane Dembele didn’t enjoy great games against Cadiz, but will probably retain their spots.
We could see the return of Ansu Fati after a long spell out injured, but it will be from the bench.
Predicted Barcelona XI v Cadiz