Xavi will turn to Ez Abde for Barcelona’s game against Cadiz – report

Barcelona’s La Liga title defence got off to a very rocky start in a frustrating 0-0 draw against Getafe on Sunday night.

To make matters worse, the Catalans lost Raphinha, as the Brazilian had a rush of blood and got himself sent off for an elbow on Gaston Alvarez.

It was a frustrating moment for the player and the team, as the Blaugrana were unable to stretch out Getafe’s deep block and now will not have the winger available for two games.

Abde is Raphinha’s favoured replacement

While Barcelona have already begun proceedings to try and reduce the suspension, Mundo Deportivo have highlighted in a recent report that Abde Ezzalzouli would be the first in line to take the starting spot in Raphinha’s absence.

Of course, with Ousmane Dembele now officially a Paris Saint-Germain player, Xavi does not have any other pure wingers who offer proper width and trickery on the flanks except Raphinha and Abde.

If the appeal to reduce the Brazilian’s suspension is rejected, Abde will reportedly be favoured to start in the upcoming clash against Cadiz.

The Moroccan came off the bench at half-time against Getafe as well, and while there was a lack of end product for a multitude of reasons, he did add a lot more freshness and cause some trouble.

With Lewandowski leading the line, it is always best to have a pure winger stretch the play in order to help the Pole assume better positions.

The veteran forward had a very disappointing game against Getafe, where he was completely isolated and could not have any impact.

Abde, who seemed to impress Xavi in pre-season, will seemingly finally have a chance to show whether that faith was in good measure.