Xavi plans to ‘hide his cards’ until the last moment ahead of Barcelona vs Real Madrid

Even though Barcelona have to play Shakhtar Donetsk later tonight in the UEFA Champions League, the talk in the media has already moved to the first El Clasico of the season against Real Madrid this week.

Barcelona host their arch-rivals at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on October 28 for a game that could have major implications for the La Liga title race.

Xavi keeping his cards close to his chest

As we get closer and closer to the blockbuster clash on Saturday, Barcelona have major concerns about the availability of a number of their key players that are dealing with fitness problems.

As things stand, Xavi has already confirmed that Jules Kounde and Sergi Roberto are out of the game, but there is not much clarity about the availability of Robert Lewandowski, Pedri, Raphinha, and Frenkie de Jong.

And, SPORT’s Jordi Gil is reporting that Xavi is planning to ‘hide his cards’ until the last moment in the lead-up to the game against Real Madrid.

The Barcelona manager does not want to give Carlo Ancelotti any kind of advantage in Saturday’s Clasico against Real Madrid.

Xavi is awaiting the progress of his injured players and will avoid giving any clues as to who might be fit. As such, he is weighing up the option of not releasing the squad list on Friday and holding bak until Saturday morning.

The Clasico is a match of great importance and having some unexpected players in the squad for the rival could be a very important detail.

Who could return?

As mentioned earlier, Roberto and Kounde are very much out of the contest while hopes of having Pedri available for the game are also fading quite rapidly.

But, Xavi is hoping that Lewandowski, Raphinha, and De Jong are able to recover in time for the huge encounter at the Montjuic Stadium.