FC BARCELONA
What does Barça need to win LaLiga this weekend?
After a long season, the Catalan side are on the verge of winning LaLiga, but what needs to go their way in order to seal the title?
It is that time of year when every football fan wishes they tried harder at mental maths when at school. Times tables and quick-fire addition/subtraction was never my strong point, but it would certainly save me time nowadays given the endless hours I spend gawping at the various league tables across Europe and beyond.
As for Spain, there are two things that stand out when it comes to the LaLiga Santander table: there are not a lot of games left and FC Barcelona have a hefty advantage over second and third place in the division. Atlético Madrid, the sneaky animals, crept up and overtook Real Madrid last week after Los Blancos fell to a disappointing defeat to Real Sociedad, leaving them in third. Given the situation in Spain, the simple question of exactly when can Barcelona win the league naturally comes to mind.
The Catalan club face off against city rivals Espanyol on Sunday 14 May at 3pm ET (here’s how to watch the game live on TV or online). Xavi’s side are currently a whopping 13 points ahead of Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid and 14 points above Real Madrid.
Can Barcelona win LaLiga against Espanyol?
Simply put: yes. The Catalan side can even win it on Saturday, in the unlikely situation that Atlético lose to bottom side Elche and Real Madrid drop points to Getafe, Barça will be crowned champions without even kicking a ball.
However, in the more likely scenario that either of the two Madrid sides pick up points against their opponents on Saturday, then it would fall to Xavi’s side to simply beat relegation-threatened Espanyol the following day in order to be mathematically guaranteed as league champions this weekend.
What is Barcelona’s record against Espanyol?
The truth is that this is perhaps one of Spain’s most one-sided derbies, as Barcelona have a huge advantage over Espanyol in the overall head-to-head record. Although the two sides drew 1-1 at the Camp Nou earlier this season, Barcelona have not lost any of their last 14 away games against Espanyol in LaLiga.
