Xavi will make his debut as coach of FC Barcelona next Saturday. Spanish media are already looking ahead towards the city Berby against Espanyol and see ‘el gran problema de Xavi’: the coach has only three attackers to choose from.
Only Memphis Depay, Luuk de Jong and Yusuf Demir are available to play against Espanyol. Ousmane Dembele, Ansu Fati, Sergio Aguero and Martin Braithwaite are injured. Xavi wants to stick with the system he used with Al-Sadd. By playing in a 4-3-3 formation, he will therefore have to line up his three available attackers, it suggests SPORT Diary.
It is expected that Memphis and Demir will play from the wings, with De Jong in the ashes. However, Xavi is not a fan of De Jong, who is reportedly allowed to leave Camp Nou again. In the event that Xavi really doesn’t want to use De Jong, Memphis will probably start in the ashes with Demir and Sergiño Dest as wingers.
Neto, Eric García, Gerard Pique, Pedri and Sergi Roberto have been out in recent weeks with physical discomfort, but seem fit enough to play against Espanyol.
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