FC Barcelona suffered significantly from injuries in the first phase of the season, but now all the important players are getting nearer to making their returns from these injuries, and Xavi will soon have a full squad available to him.
The return of players like Lewandowski, Raphinha, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, and Kounde will definitely be a relief for the Barcelona head coach, who has had to work with a minimum of resources in the last few weeks.
Kounde and Christensen
However, the return of these players will also mean making some difficult decisions, and as SPORT has noted, one such decision will be regarding the pairing at the center of the defense. With Kounde’s return, Xavi now has four center-backs available to him, including Kounde, Christensen, Araujo, and Martinez.
This season, the most common pairing in the center of the defense has been that of Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen, as they have started 7 games together in the center of the defense out of eleven games this season in La Liga. Christensen has already played ten games this season while Kounde has 9 league appearances so far.
With this pairing, Barcelona kept a clean sheet in the matches against Getafe, Cadiz, Betis, and Sevilla. However, it was also this pairing which saw the team concede two out of three goals against Villarreal, one out of two against Celta Vigo, and one against Osasuna.
Araujo and Martinez
Ronald Araujo is also now expected to be a more regular feature in the center as he has returned from injury and is also unlikely to be deployed on the right flank in the near future. The Uruguayan has currently only one start in La Liga as a center-back this season and has thrice come from the bench.
Inigo Martinez is also becoming an important defender for Xavi, as he has started the last two games, and played a good game against Real Madrid. Thus, Xavi can also play him once again in the upcoming match against Real Sociedad.
For this match, Xavi will also have the option to go with three defenders, which will allow Balde and Cancelo to be more active offensively. However, keeping in view Sociedad’s playing style and Takefusa Kubo’s offensive threat, this would not be the ideal formation for this match.