With Gavi, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong all out of action for the next month, Barcelona’s midfield options during this upcoming period are very limited. Against Mallorca on Friday, only one natural option started in the centre of the park (Ilkay Gundogan), although that’s unlikely to be the case on Tuesday when Napoli come to town for the second leg of their crucial Champions League last 16 showdown.
Andreas Christensen will reprise his role as the pivot, but the other midfielder alongside him and Gundogan is up for debate. Fermin Lopez could be trusted, but as Sport have reported, it’s more likely that Sergi Roberto is the one selected by head coach Xavi Hernandez to play in the engine room.
Roberto has recovered from injury, and is available to face the reigning Serie A champions. He has reportedly been playing the de Jong role in training, which points to him earning a rare start next week.
🚨 Sergi Roberto is ready to replace De Jong against Napoli. He's fully recovered from his injury, and has completed the last training sessions at a very good pace. @Jordigil pic.twitter.com/o3AA5MjoYH
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 10, 2024
It’s understandable that Xavi prefers Roberto – who will almost certainly leave Barcelona at the end of the season when his contract expires – to Fermin for the Napoli match, as he has experience of playing crucial Champions League fixtures. Still, it also shows how badly missed Gavi, Pedri and de Jong are.
