Luis Enrique's headache when it comes to his midfield options

Luis Enrique seems to have decided to exploit the number of central midfielders he has to the maximum. There has been a lot of rotations in that area and the seven players battling for game-time there have had to share it.

It’s true that the two players with the most games and most minutes are the regulars, Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic. It’s also true that Andres Iniesta has been held back on this front by the severe knee injury he suffered in October. 

But beyond that it’s evident Lucho wants to share the time to keep competition and morale high in the dressing room. 

Nobody knows better than Luis Enrique what qualities each players bring to the table. Managing the talent to combine it in the optimum way has been and is the key to Barcelona’s DNA, even beyond having an artillery like the MSN up top. 

Barcelona have had to manage a complicated situation, with the Busquets-Rakitic-Iniesta trio sometimes tired or injured, while the new players have to acclimatise and Arda Turan has still been erratic.

Andre Gomes and Denis Suarez have been the main replacements when midfielders are required, with it being important to note that Arda has accumulated many minutes in one of the attacking positions, when Neymar and Messi were out injured. 

In total, FC Barcelona have played 25 official games, between La Liga, the Copa del Rey, Champions League and Spanish Super Cup, with 2,250 minutes of play. Here are the breakdown:

	Partidos Jugados	Partidos Titular	Minutos Jugados
BUSQUETS	21	21	1.719
RAKITIC	19	16	1.316
ARDA TURAN	18	12	1.142
ANDRÉ GOMES	18	11	1.078
DENIS SUÁREZ	19	10	973
INIESTA	13	9	762
RAFINHA	15	7	706