It would seem that FC Barcelona now have to be quite careful in every competition that they are active in. The Catalan giants can not afford to make any more mistakes. Already in a risky position within La Liga now, Xavi’s Barcelona next look towards the Champions League.
Their upcoming opponents will be none other than FC Porto at the Montjuic Stadium. As things stand, FC Barcelona currently lead their Group H. However, it is only on the basis of their head-to-head advantage over Porto, as they are tied on 9 points as well as their goal difference.
As per SPORT, however, Xavi will have a fair idea of which players to start in that game. During their recent encounter against Rayo Vallecano, several important figures were rested. This was due to multiple reasons, but the clash against their Portuguese rivals would surely have been one of them.
Primarily, neither of Jules Kounde nor Ronald Araujo played a single minute against Rayo Vallecano. Even as the team came to a crumbling point, Xavi decided not to field either one of them.
With the Uruguayan having arrived late from international duty and the Frenchman needing some rest to reevaluate his recent performances, it seems that Xavi made the right decision to rest both the central defenders.
With this absence, it becomes almost guaranteed that they could start against Porto. Apart from the two defenders, other players such as Ilkay Gundogan, Raphinha, Joao Felix, and Fermin Lopez were also initially on the bench.
They arrived as late substitutes into the game only because the situation asked for it ultimately. SPORT suggests that perhaps if the situation was more under control, the FC Barcelona manager may have opted to keep the stars on the bench.
