Xavi faces a dilemma in the derby match

close >

Xavi will appear for the first time on the bench of the Barcelona coaching staff on November 20 against Espanyol at the Camp Nou with many unknowns, especially in the offensive line, because due to injuries in the Barcelona attack, a coach will have only three strikers from the first team, although he wants Other options to be loyal to his game system.

In his first match as Barcelona’s new coach, Xavi will bet on the tactical drawing that gave him good results in Al Sadd in Doha: 4-3-3. On paper, the three places should be Memphis and Demir in the wings and Luke de Jong at the center of the attack, however, the Dutchman He does not have the profile of the striker that Xavi wants

Another option that Xavi may consider is to put Memphis in the center of the attack and open the field as he likes with fast and deep wings, and Demir may be one of them, and Jaffe or Dest in the right wing.

On the other hand, Xavi and since the first training session had players from La Masia, and they stood out in this position, such as Ferran Gutgala, Abdessamad Zalzouli and Ilyas Akhmash, who could also get their chance, of the three only Abdessamad already knows what it’s like to appear For the first time with the first team, he participated on November 6 against Celta in Palidos (3-3).

The doubt lies in the choice that Xavi will make: will he bet on “out of position” players from the first team or on specialists from the reserve? Whatever decision he makes, the coach will be consistent and courageous with his way of understanding football and striving for the goal he already declared in his presentation: “In Barcelona, ​​only winning is good.” He added, “We believe that the best way to win is to play well. We want to We play happy football, in attacking, opening the field, dominating the possession game and looking for spaces.”

Xavi is hoping to get up to seven players back in the derby, despite not having any of them from the offensive line, as he will be able to count on Neto, Dust, Ike, Pique, Nico, Pedri and Sergi Roberto, but not yet with those who are. They are still in the clinic: Dembele, Fati, Aguero and Braithwaite, and among these striker Dembele will be the first to recover.

In any case, Xavi will start with the odds along the way, and will do his best to find possible solutions to save the first meeting against Espanyol, and the next challenge that awaits him is a “final” at Camp Nou against Benfica, and a victory over the Portuguese team would Leading Barcelona to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

(Source: Sport newspaper)