It has been a tough few weeks for Barcelona, even before Gavi’s season-ending knee injury. Performances on the pitch have been below par, even despite victories over Real Sociedad and Alaves.
As a result, they have been under pressure from fans and media alike for there to be a drastic turnaround in performances going forward. The international break has come at a good time for Xavi Hernandez and his players to reset and go again, and the Barcelona manager could revert to a familiar tactic in hopes of turning things around.
As per Sport, Xavi is considering going back to the four-midfielder tactic that served Barcelona so well last season. This system allowed Barcelona to dominate matches, and they were also very defensively sound whilst using it.
With Frenkie de Jong and Pedri returning, it allows Xavi to utilise this system effectively. Ilkay Gundogan will also play, meaning that the final position will be filled by either Oriol Romeu or Fermin Lopez.
It means that Barcelona will lose one of their forward players, meaning that either Joao Felix or Raphinha/Lamine Yamal/Ferran Torres won’t be starting. It will be interesting to see if Xavi does bring this system back against Rayo Vallecano, and if so, whether it brings about an improvement in performances.
