FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are the two finalists for this edition of the Supercopa de Espana being held in Saudi Arabia, and preparations are underway in both camps to get their hands on the trophy.
Barcelona defeated Real Betis on their way to the final, while Real Madrid beat Valencia, with both matches going to extra time and eventually to penalties to get a winner. Thus, both teams are equal favorites to win the trophy going into the match.
Vinicius Jr. is one of the most prolific players in the Real Madrid squad and has already created problems for Barcelona’s backline whenever the two teams have met in El Classicos in recent years.
As a result, Xavi is giving extra attention to this source of likely trouble, and recent reports by Javi Miguel of AS claim that he has found the solution to this problem. This solution involves moving Ronald Araujo to the right side of the back four as a right-back, in order to contain Vinicius Jr. with his dominating strength and agility.
Xavi has already experienced such a setup, which definitely played dividends as Barcelona came out 4-0 winners in the El Classico last season. However, such a decision can result in Araujo being missed in the center of the defense, while his conditioning is also not yet 100% as he has recently returned from a lengthy injury.
