(Football news) Barcelona on Tuesday lost  2-0 against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. It was their first loss of the season even though they played very well. Now Xavi will be hoping that his team can bounce back as they host Elche. A home fixture against Elche is usually a good time to rest players but after the loss midweek the Blaugrana will be looking to make a statement before going into the international break. Elche are currently winless and rock bottom of the league table with 1 draw and 5 losses. 

Barcelona have a full squad available which is good news. A few players will be leaving to play international fixtures which means that Xavi may be forced to rest a few players. Ousmane Dembele, who has been excellent this season, had a day off in Munich. He will be hoping to bounce back straight away as will Robert Lewandowski who didn't have an impact on the game against his former club. Xavi last season didn't have enough players he could rely on but now he has great squad depth which brings its own set of challenges. 

Barcelona were not clinical in front of goal at the Allianz Arena which cost them the match. They will have much more of the ball against Elche but the visitors can hurt them on the counter attack. Midfielder Alex Collado will be the biggest threat for Barcelona. Elche will still be without Gonzalo Verdu, while Gerard Gumbau is also out with an injury. The odds are highly in favour of Barcelona but an Elche win cannot be discarded. It will be a very big blow for Xavi if the team loses a match they should win comfortably that too right before the international break.

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