As Barcelona prepare to take on Rayo Vallecano in their return to La Liga following a troubling international break, a report from SPORT has affirmed that Pedri will start the game for Xavi’s side.
The report adds that Pedri, having previously started in the match against Alaves after an injury layoff, is expected to feature once again in the central midfield alongside Oriol Romeu, Ilkay Gundogan, and Fermin Lopez if the coach opts for a four-man midfield.
On Saturday, Barcelona will be missing a crucial player, Gavi, as they prepare for a challenging match against Vallecano.
Interestingly, Xavi has never secured a victory against them since taking charge of Barça, hence, considering the magnitude of the game, he is naturally factoring in the minutes played by each of his players to ensure the balance is there.
How will the team look like?
If what Sergi Capdevila has written is true, Ronald Araujo’s place in the starting XI remains a doubt mostly because he is not expected to train until this Thursday or Friday.
This means the centre-back pairing of Andreas Christensen and Jules Kounde is very much likely. Meanwhile, Alejandro Balde will occupy the left-back spot and Joao Cancelo will be on the right.
However, the manager can also factor in Araujo at right like he did against Alaves to give Cancelo some rest.
In Gavi’s absence, the decision on whether to field four midfielders remains uncertain. Good thing for Barcelona is that Romeu, Fermin, Gundogan, and Pedri are all available for selection, while Frenkie de Jong could also return.
Up top, all options including Joao Felix, Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres are available as well. There is some doubt regarding Raphinha, but that is only because he will arrive late from his international commitment.
If Xavi does deploy a four-man midfield, he will be short of options on the bench, hence it is very much likely that he might revert to either a 4-3-3 or even a 4-2-3-1 approach. This way, he will have enough power on his bench.
