The past couple of weeks have not been entirely ideal for FC Barcelona as they have lost two of their three previous matches in all competitions.

The defeat against Real Madrid in the first El Clasico was a bitter pill to swallow and seemingly served to deflate the team’s confidence, following which they crawled to an unconvincing 1-0 win over Real Sociedad, before losing to Shakhtar Donetsk.

The fitness problems plaguing the squad have had an effect on the results, with a number of stars like Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Pedri, and Jules Kounde not being fully fit for the aforementioned fixtures while Frenkie de Jong is still not back.

Pedri seen as the key by Xavi

But with everyone barring De Jong and Sergi Roberto now fully recovering, Barça expect things to take a turn for the better.

Indeed, as per Javi Miguel of AS, Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez sees key midfielder Pedri as the main man to spark a turnaround of fortunes for the team now that he is fully fit and ready.

In fact, it is expected that the 20-year-old midfield sensation is expected to start tomorrow afternoon against Deportivo Alaves at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

Barça’s gameplay has been lacking in the recent matches and Xavi believes that Pedri’s return will be crucial to the team getting back to their usual style on the pitch.

Back to pull the strings from midfield. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The Spanish international had minutes in the games against Sociedad and Shakhtar, but is all set to start against Alaves, potentially alongside Ilkay Gundogan and Fermin Lopez, with Gavi suspended for the game.

What did Xavi say?

Speaking ahead of the game, manager Xavi insisted that Pedri is now 100% fit, along with other recent injury returnees like Lewandowski.

“Frenkie will be against Rayo and Pedri is 100%. Lewandowski is at 100%,” he said.

Pedri’s return to 100% fitness will come as a major boost and his comeback to the starting XI after over two months could prove to be the difference for Barcelona.