Barcelona defender to have a different role in upcoming games amid injury problems

Injuries to key players, namely Pedri and Frenkie de Jong against Athletic Club has forced Barcelona to make several changes in their approach for the upcoming matches.

In this context, a report from SPORT has emerged, saying that these injuries could prompt a change in role for a certain Joao Cancelo as he could now operate in an inverted full-back position to fill in the lost positions. 

This season, the list of injuries Barcelona have dealt with is troubling. Earlier in the season, both De Jong and Pedri were unavailable.

While there were players who covered the positions, Gavi’s absence for the rest of the season and the current unavailability of the two has left the team exposed in the centre of the field.

A new role for Cancelo

It is to be noted that both Oriol Romeu and Sergi Roberto aren’t really creative leaders for the team which is why Barça need to figure out solutions to control the games. 

With injuries to Pedri, Gavi, and Frenkie, Xavi might go back to using three attackers instead of his four-man midfield setup.

Joao Cancelo could have a different role for the upcoming matches. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

In that setup, when Pedri played as a false winger, Barça relied on Cancelo to provide width on the left side.

However, if Xavi uses a traditional left winger, Cancelo could have a different role. Since he is technically skilled and can connect well, he could focus more on that and drift into midfield, operating as an inverted full-back while leaving the attacking duties to the winger. 

This would allow Ilkay Gundogan and Fermin Lopez to stay higher up. Although Barça might lose some one-on-one situations, the team would gain speed by moving the ball and being less predictable.

What about the midfield then?

Meanwhile, figuring out the midfield will be a bit tricky for Xavi, and he doesn’t have many choices. Lopez is likely to play alongside Andreas Christensen and Gundogan, but he usually does a similar job to the German. 

Without both De Jong and Pedri, Barça need a midfielder who can connect the defence and offence well. They struggle to pass smoothly and are vulnerable to counterattacks when they lose the ball, which is where Cancelo’s technical skills will come in handy.