Who will Xavi use at right-back for Barcelona?

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The manager is short of options

Barcelona are back in action after the international break on Saturday against Real Mallorca and face a hectic month of fixtures in La Liga and the Champions League.

The Catalans are also going to have to cope without some key players after being hit by injuries during the interntional break, particularly in defence.

Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde and Hector Bellerin are all out leaving Xavi pretty short of options when it comes to the right-back slot.

So, who will the Barca manager choose?

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On the plus side, the Barca boss does have plenty of options. Sergi Roberto is arguably the most obvious choice but there are question marks over his fitness.

Roberto has been out with an Achilles problem and it’s still not clear if he is quite ready to return. You suspect he won’t be risked right now given Barca’s injury problems.

Xavi could therefore deploy a center-back on the right with Gerard Pique, Andreas Christensen or Eric Garcia all available. Left-backs Marcos Alonso and Alejandro Balde are also both fit and could switch flanks, something Sergino Dest did for Barca last season.

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The Barcelona boss could also tweak his formation and go with three central defenders instead or he could also look to Barca Atletic and call up a youngster from Rafa Marquez’s side.

Alvaro Nunez has been first choice in the early weeks of the season, but Xavi did take a look at Marc Casado in pre-season. Alvaro Sanz’s name is also being thrown about as the midfielder has played at full-back before.

Who do you think should feature at right-back for Barcelona? Let us know your thoughts and teams in the comments below!

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