FC Barcelona faced a painful defeat in El Clasico on Saturday, which was made even more painful by the small margins that the Catalans lost the game.
Having led the match for the most part, Xavi’s team was undone by two goals by Jude Bellingham in the latter part of the game, which canceled out Gundogan’s early goal and gave Real Madrid the victory.
However, Barcelona cannot remain occupied with this defeat for too long, as they still have a long season to go. In fact, they have another difficult match coming up next week, as they face Real Sociedad in La Liga at Reale Arena.
Frenkie and Pedri to return for Real Sociedad match
According to SPORT, Xavi will have something to cheer him up for the Real Sociedad clash, as two highly important midfielders, Frenkie de Jong and Pedri are expected to be ready for this clash. The other three important starters, Kounde, Lewandowski, and Raphinha, were already a part of the squad for the Real Madrid match.
Pedri was in the race to get ready for El Clasico but ultimately was unable to feature in this match. Now, he has a week ahead of him to train and get into his best shape. However, Barcelona will still remain fully cautious with the midfielder, and he will play against La Real only if he feels fit enough to do so.
Same is the case with Frenkie de Jong. Barcelona do not want to take any risks with the Dutchman, and the player’s own feelings will determine when he returns to action.
Players accumulating fatigue
The return of these two players will be a big boost for Xavi. As was observed in the second half of the match against Real Madrid, Barcelona lost some physicality in the midfield as most of the players were already fatigued.
Owing to the short squad for Barcelona this season, most players have not been able to get proper rest, and this is particularly the case with Gavi and Gundogan. Pedri and Frenkie’s return will thus allow Xavi to rotate his midfield more, but Gavi and Gundogan will still start the match against Real Sociedad.