Given the forced situation that FC Barcelona have found themselves to be in following the goalless stalemate against Getafe at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez on the opening match of their La Liga campaign, certain changes are in order.
First and foremost Barcelona have to deal with the suspensions handed out to both Brazilian winger Raphinha and Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez, with both key Barcelona figures set to miss the next two games due to their respective actions in the Getafe clash.
While Xavi’s replacement will understandably be his brother, Oscar Hernandez, the case of Raphinha could allow for a more flexible array of changes to help counter the Barcelona winger’s absence.
According to Spanish outlet SPORT, one player that could benefit from this suspension of the Brazilian is 19-year-old midfielder Gavi, who could now be deployed by Xavi Hernandez as the left-sided forward in his front three while simultaneously acting as a fourth midfielder.
The player is all too familiar with this setup, given that it is one that was used frequently last season at FC Barcelona and sees the youngster provide width to the attack while also fitting in with the midfield to allow more control of the game.
Another option to deploy Gavi would be to directly start him off as a midfielder, which is his specialty in terms of positional preference, behind the traditional setup of deploying two pure wingers on either side of the center forward, something Xavi could try out with the Barcelona side he chooses to field against Cadiz.
