Xavi planning ‘experiments’ for Barcelona’s remaining games to give chances to fringe players

With the La Liga title sewn up with four games still left to be played, Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez now has free reign to play with his tactics and lineups and give chances to players who have not been used regularly this term.

And, as per Sergi Capdevila of SPORT, Xavi is planning some major ‘experiments’ for Barcelona’s remaining four league games as he plans to give some fringe players an opportunity to make a case for themselves and their future at the club.

Players like Eric Garcia, Pablo Torre, Franck Kessie, Ferran Torres, and Ansu Fati, who have not started many games during the course of the campaign will be getting opportunities in the remaining matches.

One of the experiments that the manager is planning is to use Garcia in the midfield pivot position. The Spaniard already played that role against Elche and impressed and the manager wants to assess whether he can be a reliable option as a No. 6 on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, Xavi is also planning to utilise Marcos Alonso in his natural left-back role, having used him more as a left-sided centre-back for the majority of his appearances this season. It would suggest that Alejandro Balde could be given some rest.

There are also plans to use Kessie in a more advanced role to see what he can offer. The Ivorian is one of several first-team players to be linked with an exit and will be aiming to make the most of these opportunities to try and convince the club to retain him.

Pablo Torre is another player whose future hangs in the balance as he is linked with a loan exit. But the youngster is keen to remain at the club and will be looking to capitalise on the minutes he gets in the upcoming matches.

The plan is to use him in the role that Pedri essays for the club, meaning the 19-year-old could act as one of the primary creative hubs for Barça.

As for the attack, even though Robert Lewandowski has the Pichichi Trophy on his mind, Xavi could utilise Ansu in the No. 9 role in the upcoming matches while fielding Ferran out wide on the left side.