Barcelona 87-12 Real Madrid
After adding another point to their lead at the top of LaLiga, Barça are closing in on their 28th Spanish league championship.
Barring a major turnaround at the top of LaLiga, FC Barcelona are poised to win the 28th domestic championship in their 126-year history.
That’s the verdict of soccer statisticians Opta, after Hansi Flick’s league leaders increased their points advantage over title rivals Real Madrid this weekend.
What is Barcelona’s LaLiga lead after matchday 30?
Barça are now four points clear of Los Blancos at the summit of LaLiga, having edged closer to the championship by earning a point against Real Betis on Saturday.
The Blaugrana’s 1-1 draw at Montjuïc came after second-placed Madrid suffered a surprise 2-1 home defeat to struggling Valencia earlier in the day.
Although Barça missed the chance to strike a more decisive title blow against Betis, the Catalans had won each of their nine previous league games and remain unbeaten in the Spanish top flight since the turn of the year.
Combined with the faltering form of Madrid and third-placed Atlético Madrid, it’s an impressive run of results that has left Barça with one hand firmly on the LaLiga trophy, according to Opta’s ‘supercomputer’.
What are Barcelona and Real Madrid’s LaLiga title odds, per Opta?
Using a series of parameters and simulations, the ‘supercomputer’ projects that Barça will finish the LaLiga season on a total of 86 points - six ahead of Madrid, who have dropped points in five of their last nine league games.
And Opta expects Barça to end the campaign with a whopping 11-point advantage over Atlético, who are still to play this weekend but have taken just one point from their last three league matches.
The ‘supercomputer’ calculates Barça’s chances of winning the title at a little under 87%; Madrid, by comparison, are now given championship prospects of just over 12%. Atleti’s title chances are currently rated at less than 1%.
Check out Opta’s LaLiga top six predictions in full:
Clásico title clincher for Barça?
If Barça can extend their lead over Madrid by two more points by the time the teams meet in LaLiga in mid-May, the Blaugrana would have the opportunity to clinch the title on home turf against their arch enemies.
That would be a historic moment: throughout the clubs’ more than century-long rivalry, Barça have never sealed a league title in a Clásico clash with Los Merengues.
What’s more, having already beaten Madrid in January’s Spanish Super Cup final - and with a Clásico to come in the Copa del Rey final on April 26 - it could be the third time this season that Flick’s team are able to celebrate a trophy in front of their eternal rival.
And the icing on the cake for Barça would come just three days later, when Espanyol would be expected to give their neighbors a guard of honor at the RCDE Stadium.
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