Xavi’s success at Barcelona will hinge largely on his midfield

Former Barcelona great Xavi, now the team’s new coach, has only a few weeks to reorder his lineup. Here’s why the midfield will be the key to the club’s success. 

Former Barcelona great Xavi has spent the last two weeks working on what it will take to make the Catalan club competitive again.

The loss of Lionel Messi to PSG over the summer and financial woes have severely hampered Barca’s ability to compete both in La Liga and in the Champions League.

A congested calendar of games, which includes his managerial debut this Saturday against Espanyol in the Catalan and next Tuesday’s high-stakes Champions League match versus Benfica, means Xavi doesn’t have much time to reorder his lineup since taking over just before this week’s international window.

Barcelona starting lineup will be key to Xavi’s success

As Xavi tries to figure out his starting lineup, the key to Barcelona’s, and indeed his, success will come via the midfield. Xavi was once a part of Barcelona’s once-feared midfield where manager Pep Guardiola’s tiki-taka was the envy of teams across the continent.

Short of putting himself in the lineup (not going to happen since Xavi is 41 years old), the former Spanish international will need to lean on players who can both help the defense, spur an offense in much need to support and put into action his vision for what a midfield should look like.

Xavi is likely to utilize a 4-3-3 formation and has a plethora of midfielders at his disposal: Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, Gavi, Nico, Sergi Roberto, Philippe Coutinho and Riqui Puig.

Pedri is Xavi’s best midfielder, but he is out due injury. Busquets has looked better for Spain than Barca this season, so expect Xavi to give him the nod starting this weekend. Xavi and Busquets were former teammates so the Catalan coach could very well build around him.

Dutchman Frankie de Jong, who like many Barca players post-Messi in the Ronald Koeman era, has been a disappointment. The team is looking to sell him off, adding fuel to speculation that Xavi isn’t likely to start him anytime soon. Ditto for Philippe Coutinho, the most expensive signing in Barcelona’s history at $192 million, who has largely been a bust since signing him three years ago.

That means Xavi is likely to start Sergi Roberto, especially after Dani Alves was brought back recently at right back to shore up the defense and help on the flanks. Along with Busquets and Sergi Roberto, Xavi could insert Riqui Puig. The 22-year-old central midfielder has shown some flashes of brilliance and being surrounded by veterans could only make him better.

It’s true Xavi has little time for experiments and even less room for error. Barcelona need to secure a spot in the knockout phase of the Champions League as well as improve in La Liga, where they are currently an abysmal ninth.

Nonetheless, Xavi does have the talent and tactical know-how to turn things around as Barca continues to navigate the rough waters of the post-Messi era. In fact, much of that success will hinge on whether Xavi’s three-man midfield can spearhead a new era of success at Barcelona.