The current season has been full of injuries for FC Barcelona. Xavi Hernandez has not gotten any respite from physical problems to his players and has already seen almost every important player miss several games due to fitness-related problems.
As Barcelona face Girona in a game that will have significant implications for the league, they will once again be missing a number of their key players.
Marc Andre Ter Stegen and Gavi both underwent surgeries recently and are still in their recovery phases, while Araujo and Raphinha are also coming with problems in this match.
Two other players that Barcelona will probably be missing for this match are Inigo Martinez and Marcos Alonso, and their unavailability creates a notable problem for Xavi.
As SPORT has noted, if Marcos Alonso does not make it for this match, Xavi will have no first-team center-backs available on the bench against Girona.
In Alonso and Martinez’s absence, Xavi only has Araujo, Kounde, and Christensen as his first-team center-backs. However, keeping in view his team selection in the last two matches, he is likely to play either Araujo or Kounde in the right-back position, and Cancelo on the left.
Thus, if one of Kounde or Araujo starts in the center of the defense with Christensen, there will be no first-team center-back on the bench, and only Pau Cubarsi will be there for Xavi to take to the field if the need arises due to any more physical problems or an expulsion.
In light of this possible problem, Xavi can revert to a two-centre-back formation in this match. With such a scheme, Cancelo will play on the right and Balde on the left, and one of the center-backs will be on the bench.
Christensen is likely not to start in such a scenario, as he has not trained in the last two sessions because of his family-related matters.
However, such a scheme will also have problems, as it will not leave any pure fullback on the bench. Sergi Roberto will be available if Balde or Cancelo need a replacement. On the other hand, Mikayil Faye and Hector Fort, who both trained under Xavi this week, are unlikely to feature in the match.
