FC Barcelona will start training for their upcoming match against Real Sociedad today and Xavi will have to ensure the players are able to leave behind the demoralizing loss to Real Madrid of the last Saturday behind them.
Xavi himself will find it easier to get over these feelings of dejection as he has several important players back in training and will be looking to get even more of them recovered in the coming few days.
Xavi to maintain a delicate balance
However, as SPORT has noted, Xavi faces some difficult decisions, as he cannot rush the recently recovered players back to action, but the highly demanding schedule ahead will require Xavi to put his best starting eleven on the pitch.
Currently, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, and Sergi Roberto are all still in the recovery phases, but the former two will be available for the upcoming match.
However, Barcelona do not want to force any of their players to return before they feel absolutely ready to get back into action. With this demand of the club in mind, Frenkie can get some minutes against Real Sociedad, while Pedri might feature against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Xavi will also have to be careful about other players like Lewandowski, Kounde, and Raphinha, who were cleared for the Real Madrid match, and also about Araujo, Balde, and Yamal, who have also felt some discomfort recently. Felix also felt something in the match against Real Madrid, but this was not significant.
Line-up for Real Sociedad
For the match against Real Sociedad, Xavi will come out with a backline of Cancelo, Araujo, Christensen, and Balde. For the midfield, Gundogan and Gavi will be the starters, and Fermin Lopez can accompany them as a playmaker. Frenkie and Pedri will also be options for Xavi, who will both be ahead of Romeu.
In the attack, Robert Lewandowski will return to the starting eleven, with Joao Felix continuing to have his place. Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal will compete for the last spot in the team.
