Xavi facing selection dilemma in defence for Barcelona’s clash against Athletic Club

Having overwhelmingly overcome the challenge posed by Getafe at Montjuic, Barcelona now stare some very critical fixtures in the eye. Their hectic calendar begins with a clash against Athletic Club this weekend, with Atletico Madrid and Napoli also coming up in their next four games.

Manager Xavi Hernandez, needless to say, will need his best players on the job for the big nights.

While some names like Lamine Yamal, Frenkie de Jong, Joao Cancelo and Ilkay Gundogan are guaranteed starters for the big nights, the central defence is still under question.

The grand dilemma

Barcelona’s defence has seen some redemption in recent games after a terrible run of seven months. However, the only name that Xavi currently sees as an untouchable from the starting lineup is Ronald Araujo.

With Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen now occupying regular roles at right-back and the defensive midfielder respectively, two candidates stand out to partner the Uruguayan on the night – Inigo Martinez and Paud Cubarsi.

As revealed by SPORT, Xavi is in a dilemma over which of the two to trust on Sunday.

The two profiles could not be more different. Martinez is a player born and brought up in the Basque country. He has played for Real Sociedad for seven years, before playing at Athletic Club for a further five. At 32 years of age, he boasts experience like none other in the squad.

Impressive. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Cubarsi, meanwhile, is one of Barcelona’s homegrown talents who has shown maturity beyond his years. Xavi himself called him the team’s best ball-playing centre-back recently, and his display against Getafe only solidified his position as a mega talent.

The protection factor

At just 17 years of age, however, Barcelona and Xavi have tended to be protective of Cubarsi on the big stages as evidenced by his benching against Napoli. After all, he is still young and throwing him into the deep end is not recommended.

Barcelona are still fresh from the wounds Athletic Club delivered them in their recent Copa del Rey meeting, and it is thus likely that Xavi opts to rest Cubarsi once more.

Speculation aside, however, both players have good chances of partnering Araujo, and the selection will have a big role to play in the eventual result.