Gavi and Ansu Fati will return, but Sergio Busquets will drop to the bench when Barcelona and Valencia face off at the Mestalla on Saturday.
Barcelona will look to bounce back to winning ways when they lock horns with Valencia at the Mestalla on Saturday night. And Xavi Hernandez does not have a new roster issue hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araujo, Sergi Roberto, and Memphis Depay are unavailable due to their respective injuries. But Gavi is fit and available for the travelling squad to take on Valencia after not featuring against Bayern Munich.
Xavi provided an update on Gavi during his pre-match press conference, claiming the teenage prodigy is “fine” now. The Barcelona boss also spoke about Christensen and Depay, claiming the duo might be available next week.
“He’s [Gavi] fine now, and never complains. He’s ready and we will assess if he can play tomorrow. We will try to prepare them [Christensen and Depay] for Tuesday’s match, or for the Almeria game.”
Valencia vs Barcelona Preview: Probable Lineups, Prediction, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats
With Christensen and Araujo unavailable, Eric Garcia should return to pair up with Jules Kounde at the heart of the Barcelona defence. Hector Bellerin was dreadful against Bayern Munich but should start as the right-back versus Valencia. Alejandro Balde will be the left-back again this weekend.
Ousmane Dembele and Robert Lewandowski have featured regularly this season for Barcelona. But that has not been the case for Ansu Fati, Raphinha, and Ferran Torres. And the trio had been on the bench as Xavi experimented with four midfielders against Bayern Munich.
But the Barcelona boss defended his decision while adding that Fati, Raphinha, and Torres will have to be ready for when their opportunities arrive. Xavi said, “Starting four midfielder in the last games made us play less wingers, they need to be ready to play as many minutes as they get, though.”
Fati should return to the starting lineup on Saturday after a few impressive cameos. The teenage prodigy will line up alongside Dembele and Robert Lewandowski in the final third. Raphinha and Torres will thus be options on the bench against Valencia.
Finally, the midfield unit should see a few chops and changes. Sergio Busquets and Franck Kessie will likely drop to the bench, with Gavi returning to the starting lineup. The young midfielder will partner Pedri and Frenkie de Jong in the middle of the park.
Predicted Barcelona XI: ter Stegen; Bellerin, Kounde, Garcia, Balde; Gavi, de Jong, Pedri; Dembele, Lewandowski, Fati
