Gerard Piqué and Jordi Alba, forced to accept a diminished role in the team, could feature in the CL opener against Viktoria Plzen
Both captains have been relegated to the bench and Gerard has yet to make an appearance this season.
Barça return to Champions League action on Wednesday (Spotify Camp Nou, 21:00) against Viktoria Plzen and Xavi Hernández is expected to make some changes to the starting XI.
Is it time for Gerard Piqué and Jordi Alba or will they remain on the bench?
Xavi Hernandez values the seniority and experience of the two captains, undisputed starters in the last decade and until the final stretch of last season. He wants them to play a different role from now on.
The between-the-lines message is that Gerard and Jordi will have to take on a lot of bench time. And be ready to step in to provide cover for the others preferred over them.
After an intense start to the season, and before facing a match as demanding and special as the one at the Allianz Arena against Bayern Munich, Barça will play two matches that on paper are easier ties, against Viktoria Plzen and Cádiz.
Xavi has already said he will make rotations and hinted that Piqué and Alba might be included.
The key takeaway is in the last sentence: "If it's not tomorrow (this Wednesday against Viktoria) it will be Saturday (against Cádiz). They are both helping us in different ways, with different roles. They will have minutes, they will all be important. We have to create a group, a family, a team".
Xavi was asking the centre-back and full-back to take on their new role as substitutes in the final stretch of their careers with professionalism. If they want to stay at can Barça, they must assume this role.
For the moment, Piqué (35 years old) has only been able to be part of a group, family and team, as he has not played a single minute so far.
As of today, Araujo, Eric Garcia, Jules Koundé and Christensen are ahead of Gerard when it comes to forming the central axis of the Barça defence.
Demanded by the competition
Xavi has had more than enough arguments to make this new bet and dispense with Gerard.
Apart from the good results, Araujo (23 years old) and Eric (21 years old) have started the season in excellent form, demonstrating their evolution and maturity compared to the previous season.
Koundé, on his debut, proved to be another excellent bet for the future given his youth (23 years old), quality and versatility. He has already shown that he is more than capable of adapting to the right-back position.
And Christensen (26) has put in solid performances in his two starts until a cold sidelined him to the bench.
Jordi Alba (33) has been a bit more of a presence in the team at the start of the season, although he has faded.
He started the opener against Rayo Vallecano (82'), played 18 minutes against Real Sociedad, came off the bench against Valladolid and had 26 minutes at the Sánchez Pizjuán against Sevilla.
However, as the matchdays went by, it became clear that Xavi was betting on Alejandro Balde (18 years old).
Jordi's situation is worsened by the recent arrival of Marcos Alonso (31), with whom he is also competing for a starting place in the national team.
