Why is Gavi not playing for Barcelona against Alavés in LaLiga?

Barcelona beat Alavés 2-1 in LaLiga in what was a crucial game for the club and manager, Xavi Hernández, who has seen his future at the club questioned over the past few days.

The blaugrana have gone through a rough spell of results and the performances on the pitch have failed to convince, with the Clásico loss being the start of a wobbly run of games from the Catalan side. And this afternoon, Xavi had to go up against a tough opponent in Alavés without his warrior midfielder, Gavi.

Why is Gavi not playing against Alavés?

Gavi picked up a yellow card against Real Sociedad and that brought his total up to five for the season, meaning he missed out on today’s tie. The player will serve a one-match ban and will be back for Barcelona’s next game against Rayo Vallecano after the international break.

Xavi’s side were completely outclassed by Real Sociedad at the Reale Arena a week ago but a late goal from Ronald Araújo made sure that somehow they escaped with all three points after a series of missed chances from the home side which could have seen Barça lose by a cricket score.

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Barcelona need to find form

After that, during the midweek round of Champions League games, Barcelona fell to an embarrassing 1-0 away loss to Shakhtar Donetsk in Hamburg, one that the manager called “a step backwards” and “the worst in two years”. This game saw the players fail to compete against the Ukrainian side and they did not put them under sustained pressure at any point in the game.

Alavés at home was an opportunity for the side to find their form once again and convince through a playing style that sees them create chances, dominate the ball and stop the opponent. It was indeed easier said than done, however, and a Gavi-less Barcelona had a tough time breaking down the blue and white wall of their opponents, though they came through with a 2-1 win thanks to a late Lewandowski penalty.