Xavi has no time to test things out

Taking charge of a team midseason means that Xavi Hernandez does not have enough time to work with his new players in training, as Barcelona are set to play five games in the next two and a half weeks

The new Barcelona coach joined the Blaugrana just before the international break, but most of his players are currently away on international duty with their national teams.

Meanwhile, the next five games are extremely important for the Catalans should they want to keep competing for LaLiga Santander and the Champions League.

Barcelona host Espanyol in the Catalan derby that will take place on Saturday and three days later they play against Benfica, both of which are at the Camp Nou. The Benfica match will decide which team will finish in second spot in Group E.

Then follows Barcelona's game away at Villarreal on November 27 before their duel with Real Betis on home soil one week later and their trip to Germany to face Bayern Munich on December 8.

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