Barcelona coach Xavi is living a nightmare these days. Whenever he turns, he sees only injuries. Troubles are brewing, health problems are huge, and if Barca loses El Clasico in the Cup, crisis at Nou Camp will be topic of the day in Spain. Pedri got injured and the talented midfielder will be out for about a month. Then it was announced that Ousmane Dembele will not be ready for the duel with Real Madrid, and then it was announced that Robert Lewandowski got injured injury. But that’s not the end of the story, the list is growing day by day.Ferran Torres and Raphinha are expected to start against Real Madrid. On the other hand, it is expected that Ansu Fati will not start the game and that Gavi will accompany Ferran and Raphinha in attack, as Fati is coming back from a minor injury.— @sport pic.twitter.com/E8W9mssmOY— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) February 28, 2023 Xavi does’t have a classic “nine”, after Lewa’s injury. He transferred Memphis Depay to Atletico Madrid far too easily, although he praised his approach to games and training, Ansu Fati is one of the few who can play as an attaacker – although, he prefers to operate on the flank – but then again, he was issues with his knees too. Due to pain, he missed the game with Almeria, they hoped in Barcelona that he would recover – but now it seems it won’t be the case. This was supposed to be his season, he came back after a long break, but didn’t earn a starting call-up. He also faced a lot of small injuries, just like this one, due to which he will all but certainly miss El Classico. 2022 WCQ: Algeria’s winning run halted as Libya maintain 100% recordBarcelona is racing against time. Ansu Fati missed today’s training, he did not work with the rest of the team. There are only two days left until the game… The special regime and recovery have dragged on and there are fewer and fewer chances for him to play. Definitely, after several days of rest, he would not even be able to run on the field from the first minute. Xavi will make a final decision after tomorrow’s training, and already for today he withdrew Angel Alarcon from the younger categories. The young winger has been getting minutes in the previous two games, collecting 18 against Cadiz and Almeria, and is likely to be on the roster for El Classico. It is unlikely that he will start from the start against Real Madrid, rather he could hope to grab a few minutes if something goes wrong.No Pedri – no BarcaThe Catalan club was eliminated from the Europa League by Manchester United at Old Trafford. Then, Almeria also prevented the Catalans to take a double-digit lead in Primera. Xavi’s team was shocked in Andalusia. And on top of all that – injuries. Xavi will have no choice but to push Ferran Torres into the striker’s role. He did it in the past, just like Pep Guardiola when the Spain international was at Manchester City. Torres played as a striker in two big games this season – against Inter at the Camp Nou and Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano. He will once again find himself in that role… Unless Xavi surprises everyone.##NAJAVA_MECA_7059939##
