Can the Blaugrana claim an unlikely three-peat?
FC Barcelona are hoping for a miracle tomorrow evening, as the title race reaches its thrilling conclusion on the final day of the 2016-17 La Liga season. After a midweek victory over Celta Vigo at the Balaidos, Real Madrid moved three points clear at the top of the table and therefore can secure their first league title in five years by avoiding defeat at La Rosaleda against Malaga CF. the Blaugrana on the other hand would retain the trophy provided they defeat Eibar, and Malaga upset the odds to claim all three points against Real.
In the build-up to the match, much has been made of the various subplots surrounding this final set of fixtures. Malaga might be up against Real Madrid tomorrow, but a clause included in the transfer of Isco would guarantee the Andalusians an additional €1 million if Real were to secure the La Liga title. In that respect, many Catalans are suggesting that Malaga will not fight as hard as they otherwise might have done; €1 million is a large sum of money outside of the top three, and this additional windfall would certainly benefit the club.
However, to focus on this particular clause would be to ignore the 37 matches that have preceded this moment. Barcelona have been unplayable at times this season and if head-to-head records are any indication, one could argue that they are the better side when compared to Real Madrid in a one-off setting. Consistency though is the name of the game, and rather than blaming a clause in Isco’s transfer, Barcelona will look back on a number of missed opportunities and ponder the eternal question: what if?
You could point to our defeat at La Rosaleda. You could roll back the tape to the home defeat against Alaves. Maybe you’d prefer to reminisce about the refereeing decisions made against Villarreal. Heck, we could even look at the first Clasico and the foul that Arda Turan committed that led to the equaliser from Sergio Ramos. Apportion the blame however you desire, but consider just how fortunate we are to be challenging down to the last week of the season. Consider how fortunate we are to be in with a chance of securing our seventh title in nine seasons.
Even if we strike out tomorrow, Barcelona have won two-thirds of the La Ligas contested in the past nine years. To put that into context, the Bundesliga is considered a one-horse race, and Bayern Munich have “only” managed to win the title in six of the last nine seasons. This streak of Barcelona dominance is unprecedented and just because they might fall short on this particular occasion, there’s no reason to suggest that we should lose faith in the system.
Luis Enrique is leaving. Ernesto Valverde, if rumours are to be believed, will be his replacement and even before the move is official, there are sections of supporters claiming that he is unfit for the job. I haven’t checked social media recently, so I’m not sure who the current scapegoat from the squad is, but I’d imagine that most Culés are advocating for the departure of at least five to eight members of the current squad.
Online at least, this lack of support is startling. The Camp Nou, typically seen as a cauldron of discontent in times like these, stands as the safe haven for the club, players and fans. Even if the bloggers and the social influencers don’t believe, the Camp Nou will be rocking tomorrow in anticipation of one last famous remuntada for the campaign. And just as Twitter attempts to make #LuchoOut trend one last time, the Camp Nou will show its support for one of the greatest coaches this club has ever seen.
Win, lose or draw, thank you Lucho and thank you Barcelona. La Liga trophy or not, it’s been one hell of a ride.
TEAM NEWS
BARCELONA
The positive news is that Gerard Pique is expected to return after missing last week’s win over Las Palmas with a stomach complaint. The Catalan centre-half has made the headlines today for his latest social media outburst, as he condemned the latest in a string of sensationalist reports from the media and promised that he would personally look into starting a platform for athletes to address the media and hold them accountable for their false reporting.
As interesting as that might sound, those plans will have to wait as Pique will be needed in the heart of defense tomorrow. I would suggest that Javier Mascherano will partner him in the centre of defense as it appears as though El Jefecito’s time with the club is coming to an end. He deserves one final start in front of the Camp Nou crowd, and I trust Enrique to provide him with that. With Sergi Roberto suspended for the upcoming Copa del Rey final, expect him to start at right-back, with Jordi Alba filling the position on the opposite flank.
In midfield, the triumvirate of Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta are all fit and expected to start, while much the same can be said of the MSN trident, as Lionel Messi will be looking to put the finishing touches on his Pichichi-winning campaign. The golden boot will come as scant consolation for the Argentine if Real are successful in recapturing the title, but it also serves as a timely reminder of his effectiveness in the face of claims that he is “in decline”, or that Cristiano Ronaldo is proving his superiority with his exploits in the capital.
EIBAR
I almost feel bad for Eibar. In this final weekend of the season, Eibar are an afterthought. Malaga are in the headlines due to their importance in the battle against Real Madrid, while Eibar are considered to be making up the numbers ahead of their clash with Barcelona. The small club from the Basque Country have performed well this season and while they have hit a slide in this final stage of the campaign, they can be very proud of their efforts.
With an unlikely win, Eibar could finish as high as eighth, which would certainly be an achievement given their relative size and stature. Whether they can find in within themselves to engineer one last win, well that remains to be seen and the warning signs were on the wall during their timid defeat against Sporting Gijon last weekend, but it would be naïve to write off Eibar entirely.
FORM GUIDE
Barcelona: DWWWWW
Eibar: LLDWLL
LAST MEETING
SD Eibar 0-4 FC Barcelona – 22nd January 2017 – La Liga
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar all got themselves on the scoresheet in this rout, as Enrique’s side coasted to an easy win in the heart of enemy territory.
LIKELY LINE-UPS
Barcelona (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Neymar
Eibar (4-2-3-1): Yoel; Capa, Ramis, Lejeune, Junca; Escalante, Garcia; Inui, Adrian, Pedro Leon; Enrich
MATCH PREDICTION
Title or not, Barça will give Enrique a Camp Nou send-off with a Manita
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