Luis Enrique Should Put Javier Mascherano in Midfield for Tricky Ajax Tie

Barcelona face Ajax in the Champions League on Wednesday night, and Luis Enrique should put Javier Mascherano in his favoured midfield position to help control the game.

There are few better defensive midfielders than the tenacious Argentine out there, if any, so it's a shame to see him line up so frequently at centre-back for Barcelona.

Sergio Busquets is a mainstay in the anchor-man role for Barcelona, but this season he's been far from his best.

In fact, Busquets has turned in some of the poorest performances in his career during the past few weeks. Perhaps he's not physically at his best after coming back from injury, or maybe it's the lack of character in Barcelona's midfield.

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Ivan Rakitic started the season in storming form, but with Xavi Hernandez waning and Andres Iniesta out injured, Barcelona's midfield is shorn of its classic passing axis.

The Croatian has lost his sheen in recent weeks, starting with an ineffectual display against Paris Saint-Germain.

Barcelona lost that game 3-2, and Rakitic went into Enrique's bad books.

Xavi came on and added an element of control for Barcelona and subsequently started in the next few games.

However, it didn't work in the Clasico, and Rakitic was summoned from the bench.

That didn't do much, either, other than almost immediately gift Real Madrid a goal after his terrible corner gave the ball right back to Los Blancos.

In Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, Barcelona have an incredible attacking trio. They are likely to click before too long, and they will be able to win Barcelona most games by themselves.

However, relying on individual brilliance is not a good strategy when it comes to the trickier fixtures.

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A balance needs to be found in midfield, and it may be time for Enrique to do something that hasn't been seen at Barcelona by playing a double pivot.

With Mascherano adding clout to the midfield and Busquets bringing sly guile, Barcelona will have a strong base to launch attacks from. That would give Jordi Alba and Dani Alves a safety net, too, when they charge forward with their typical abandon.

Gerard Pique, who wasn't even in the squad for Barcelona's defeat by Celta Vigo, would then pair Marc Bartra at centre-back.

The Amsterdam ArenA is a good place to launch this strategy.

After two defeats in a row, most Barcelona fans will be happy to see the team tinkered with a little bit. While things were going well, it was difficult for Enrique to experiment because he didn't want to change his winning formula.

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Ajax have no standout players, but they are an excellent team.

In the second half at the Camp Nou when these two sides met a couple of weeks ago, they weren't far from earning a draw before Sandro Ramirez struck to seal Barcelona's 3-1 win.

If Barcelona lose to Ajax, their Champions League hopes are in real danger. However, a draw would be a reasonable result. On paper, they should be beating Ajax but taking a point home would not be a disaster.

It would leave Barcelona on seven points, three behind Paris Saint-Germain, should the French side win as expected against Apoel Nicosia. Then, assuming both sides win their next games, Barcelona have a chance to top the group with a win when they host PSG in December.