Barely 48 hours before Barcelona set about defending their La Liga title, the Catalan giants only had 12 players officially registered for Spain's top flight competition.
Real Madrid are often framed as the team that leave it late in Iberia but Barcelona's precarious accounting has taken them down to the wire in each of the past two seasons. Xavi Hernandez was eventually equipped with more options but the club's dire economic position leaves little room for more false starts such as the 0-0 draw against Getafe.
After beating Cadiz 2-0 on Sunday evening, here's what lies in store for Xavi and his penny pinchers.
Villarreal vs Barcelona - La Liga
Xavi was first offered the role of Barcelona manager back in January 2020. The former club captain turned down his boyhood team, forcing the Catalans to instead turn to Quique Setien.
After an introductory press conference dominated by the revelation that Setien had spent the previous day "walking past cows in my home town", the Cruyff disciple never got a grip of the dressing room. Setien has fared much better in charge of Villarreal but was beaten by Xavi's Barcelona earlier this year.
- 27/08/23 - Villarreal vs Barcelona (16:30)
Osasuna vs Barcelona - La Liga
Barcelona's first game after the summer transfer window closes will finally provide some clarity in regard to the players that will be available to Xavi - until the chaos continues in January.
Copa del Rey runners-up Osasuna are hardly accommodating hosts for the reigning La Liga champions, especially in the cauldron that is El Sadar.
- 03/09/23 - Osasuna vs Barcelona (20:00)
Barcelona vs Real Betis - La Liga
When the legendary Vic Buckingham was manager of Barcelona, he condensed his entire pre-match team talk into one word scrawled onto the chalkboard: "BETIS". "Who are Betis?" Buckingham asked. "F*** Betis," before kicking the chalkboard to the floor.
Xavi, a keen club historian, may be tempted to recreate that motivational speech before Real Betis come to Catalonia in mid-September.
- 17/09/23 - Barcelona vs Real Betis (TBC)
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Barcelona vs TBC - Champions League
Xavi only temporarily quenched Barcelona's thirst for success with the league title last season, papering over the cracks of another wretched European campaign.
The four-time Champions League winner during his playing days has only won two of his eight managerial outings in the continent's premier club competition - both were against Viktoria Plzen. Barcelona's group stage opponents have not yet been revealed but the Czech club will not be there to give Xavi any free points.
- 19-20/09/23 - Barcelona vs TBC
Barcelona vs Celta Vigo - La Liga
Rafael Benitez was only in charge of Real Madrid long enough to oversee one Clasico - it would be one too many as Barcelona romped to a 4-0 win.
It took a 94th-minute equaliser from former Barcelona defender Oscar Mingueza to avoid consecutive defeats for Benitez to start his tenure as Celta coach. If he lasts in Vigo long enough, he can only hope for a better outcome from his upcoming trip to Catalonia.
- 24/09/23 - Barcelona vs Celta Vigo (TBC)
Mallorca vs Barcelona - La Liga
The last time Mallorca ended a campaign inside La Liga's top ten, Xavi hit double digits for league goals for the first and only time in his senior career. The island outfit recorded an impressive ninth-placed finish last term, the club's best return since 2012.
However, it's been even longer since Mallorca last recorded a win in this fixture, going almost a decade and a half without victory against Barcelona. In fact, Mallorca have lost their last 11 meetings with the Catalans.
- 27/09/23 - Mallorca vs Barcelona (TBC)
This article was originally published on 90min as Barcelona fixtures: Next six games after Cadiz victory.
