How should Barcelona replace Pedri in a key clash against Sevilla?

Barcelona will face Sevilla on Wednesday in a decisive match at Camp Nou with a place in this season’s Copa del Rey final at stake.

As we know, Sevilla are ahead 2-0 after the first leg, but Barça beat the Andalusians by the same score on Saturday in the league and will go into their chances of coming back from the tie.

However, Koeman has a major headache before the match, namely how to replace Pedri, who will be missing after suffering a calf problem against Sevilla.

The 18-year-old has been a fixture in the starting eleven and his absence will be felt.

Koeman hired 18-year-old Ilaix Moriba to replace Pedri on Saturday, and the youngster is certainly an option. The Barça manager gave Ilaix his Copa del Rey debut in January and then followed up with a first La Liga start in the win over Alavés.

The Dutchman clearly has a lot of faith in Ilaix, but it would still be a great decision to start the youngster in such a high-profile game given his lack of high-level experience. Moriba was not part of the Barcelona B squad for today’s match with Lleida, suggesting that he is likely to be on the squad for the day.

Another player who hopes to get the go-ahead is Riqui Puig. The midfielder hasn’t had much playing time since he started in the win over Alavés, but it would be a good bet as Barça will have to go on the attack to come back from 2-0.

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Miralem Pjanic, who missed Saturday’s game with an ankle problem, is another option, but perhaps less likely to play. The midfielder is not having a great first season at Barcelona and was hooked at half-time against Elche in his last appearance.

The 30-year-old would offer more experience than Puig and Ilaix, but he just doesn’t seem to have Koeman’s faith and it would be a surprise if he gets the go-ahead alongside Frenkie de Jong and Sergio Busquets in midfield.

Koeman could also change his system again and bring in another attacker like Francisco Trincao or Antoine Griezmann. Neither of them came off the bench against Sevilla at the weekend but they are capable of scoring goals.

The Barça coach was right in his tactics during Saturday’s game, as his team won 2-0 and will have to get the formula right again on Wednesday in a competition that still seems to be the club’s best opportunity this season.