Deportivo La Coruna v FC Barcelona : Preview
- Chance for Barcelona to Seal the Deal ?
- Apr 29, 2018
- 2 min read
Barcelona head to Deportivo La Coruna and have the chance to seal the La Liga title on Sunday. It’s was a bit of a long shot but if Atletico and Real Madrid both failed to win at the weekend (as they both play before Barca), then Barcelona could have been crowned champions before kick-off. But Real Madrid winning 2 – 1 against Leganes and Atletico Madrid yet to play their away game against Alaves from 7:45 PM, Barca will have to secure a win or a draw to seal the La Liga title for the third time in the last four years.
Sergi Roberto will miss out after his red card against Celta Vigo which means Nelson Semedo will start at right-back. The rest of the defence pretty much will be the same with Marc-Andre ter Stegen in goal and Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti and Jordi Alba completing the backline.
Barcelona have had a week off since the Copa del Rey final against Sevilla. That would mean Ernesto Valverde will play Philippe Coutinho and Andres Iniesta out on the flanks, with Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets controlling the middle.
Valverde will probably go with his strongest line-up until the title is completely assured. After that he’ll probably rotate the squad giving Ousmane Dembele and other youngsters some game time trying to keep the unbeaten streak.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez will probably start the game. Messi is at the top of this game scoring 29 goals this season, 5 more than that of Cristiano Ronaldo and is theLa Liga top goal scorer. Messi, with his 12 assists this season will probably want a few more goals to close in on another Pichichi.
Possible starting XI : Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Coutinho, Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez.
After Barca's embarrassment in the Champions League quarter-finals against Roma, there have been some questions regarding Ernesto Valverde's future at Camp Nou. Valverde will also have to deal with Iniesta’s announcement about him leaving Barca this summer. Deportivo currently sitting in the relegation zone, and could be relegated with anything other than victory.
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