This weekend Barcelona will start their home campaign in unfamiliar surroundings. With the Camp Nou undergoing a number of renovations, the Blaugrana will call the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys home as they look to defend their La Liga title. Cadiz is the first visitor after Barca stumbled out of the gate with a 0-0 away draw at Getafe.
Cadiz started their campaign with a rather uninspiring 1-0 win at home to newly promoted Deportivo Alaves and will be without Gonzalo Escalante who was shown a straight red card for a high boot, shortly after coming on.
Xavi may elect to change his formation, potentially giving Gavi a start, but he will be forced into one change with right winger Raphinha sent off following a petulant off-the-ball foul against Getafe.
Who are the likely candidates to replace the Brazilian?
Lamine Yamal
Yamal may be the most popular Barca player among fans at the moment after his inspiring cameo against Tottenham.
He wasn’t able to recreate that magic against Getafe, but whenever the 16-year-old is on the pitch, you always believe something special can happen.
Reports in Spain indicate that Yamal is the most likely to replace Raphinha for the game, which would represent his first start for the club.
He offers pace, trickery and a good eye for the final pass. One key for Barcelona early in the season will be getting Lewandowski going, and Yamal may be the perfect option.
Ansu Fati
The young Spanish forward enjoyed a successful pre-season but had a subdued opener against Getafe being used as a second-half sub.
Fati had one golden opportunity to break the deadlock but fired over the bar. He tried his luck from 30 yards out but the ball sailed well wide.
Fati is at his best when he can roam around picking up pockets of space between the lines. If Xavi wants an out-and-out forward on the wing, it’s likely he’ll prefer Yamal to Fati.
Rumours are still circulating that Fati will be allowed to leave this summer if Barca receives a suitable offer, for me that would be a big mistake with 20-year-old just starting to regain his form following a long injury lay-off.
Ferran Torres
Torres was an unused sub at the weekend and I’d consider him a long shot to start on the wing with him spending all of the pre-season as an out-and-out striker.
Unfortunately for him, Barca tends to play just one striker and he’s not going to dislodge Lewandowski.
Torres is at his best playing down the middle, and he’s the ideal replacement for the Polish striker when a break is required, or if a different style is required.
Considering his goal-scoring form in the pre-season, I was surprised he didn’t get any playing time at the weekend with Lewandowski looking rusty.
Abde Ezzalzouli
Abde was the first man introduced from the bench to try and change the game, so logic would indicate that he’d be the first choice for replacing Raphinha.
The Moroccan forward has spent the majority of his time playing on the left wing, and while he’s more than capable of playing on the right, Xavi may want to keep his pace in reserve to attack the Cadiz defence late in the game.
Abde’s performance against Getafe was a little underwhelming. We gave him a 6 in the official player ratings. He offered plenty of pace and intent, but he lost the ball too much and his end product was lacking.
He’s a young player and he’ll learn and develop with more game time, but I expect he’ll start the game on the bench again.