Four players Xavi could use to replace unavailable Barcelona superstar vs Almeria

Barcelona will be playing their final La Liga game before the mid-season break tomorrow when they host UD Almeria at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

The Blaugrana have already fallen nine points behind league leaders Girona and are seven below Real Madrid in second place. As such, another slip-up would potentially end their title retention hopes midway through the campaign itself.

So, Xavi Hernandez & co. will be eager to avoid another mishap and break their three-match winless streak to get things back on track.

However, they will have to do so without star midfielder Frenkie de Jong, as he is suspended for tomorrow’s match for accumulation of cards.

The Netherlands is a key cog for Xavi and having him unavailable, at a time when Gavi is also out on the sidelines, comes as a big blow.

As such, the Barcelona manager has a major decision to make regarding his starting midfielder alongside Ilkay Gundogan and Pedri, and he has four options to choose from.

Fermin Lopez

After enjoying a breakthrough with the first team, Fermin Lopez has somewhat found minutes hard to come by in recent weeks. Indeed, after the last international break, he only featured for a handful of minutes vs Rayo Vallecano, Atletico Madrid, and Girona, while being an unused substitute against Valencia.

Fermin did start against Royal Antwerp earlier this month but failed to make an impression. However, his qualities, coupled with that of Pedri’s could be exactly what Barcelona need against Almeria, with Gundogan then slotting in as the pivot.

Oriol Romeu

Since the game against Rayo Vallecano, Romeu has not played in La Liga. The midfielder was on the bench against Atletico, Girona, and Valencia but was not called upon. And his performance against Royal Antwerp, in a game he started, was one to forget.

Given that he is more of a defensive-minded player, Romeu has fewer chances of starting against Almeria, because Barcelona might opt for players with a more attacking profile to break open the Almeria defence.

Sergi Roberto

The Barcelona captain has recovered from his muscle injury and started in midfield in the game against Royal Antwerp, but did not feature in the last three league games. Roberto’s last start in La Liga came way back in September.

With Joao Cancelo’s arrival, Xavi has seen Roberto as more of an option in midfield than at right-back. What works in Roberto’s favour is that he can slot in as a pivot, freeing up Pedri and Gundogan, or even operate as an interior midfielder himself.

Marc Casado

One of the names that Xavi mentioned as possible options to replace De Jong during his pre-match press conference earlier today, Marc Casado has been pushing for more involvement in the first-team setup for a while now.

The Barça Atletic captain is well-suited to the demands of playing as a pivot in the Barcelona system and perhaps the time has come for Xavi to trust the young midfielder more in the matches to come.

Other options

While not realistic, Xavi would also have the option of utilising someone like Joao Cancelo or Andreas Christensen in the middle of the park if needed against Almeria tomorrow. However, that is a far-fetched possibility at this point.