Xavi rings in his choice to stick around at Barcelona on Monday when the reigning La Liga champions face Valencia as the season nears its end. Barcelona have a chance to retain second place as they currently sit one point behind Girona. The match could also be a last shot to stick around in the title race, no matter how unlikely it is that they will win La Liga for a second year in a row. They enter the match 14 points behind Real Madrid, who might be able to win the league in the next couple of weeks even if Barcelona win out. As for the solidly midtable Valencia, they can rise up to seventh with a surprise win over Barcelona.
Here’s what you need to know before tuning in.
How to watch and odds
- Date: Monday, April 29 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys — Barcelona, Spain
- Live stream ESPN+
- Odds: Barcelona -320; Draw +430; Valencia +700
Storylines
The air of uncertainty around Barcelona in recent months has officially been cleared out of the way — Xavi is staying on as manager, three months after deciding to leave and after a campaign by the club’s higher-ups to convince him to stick around.
The period between Xavi’s big decisions has been a surprisingly optimistic one at Barcelona, in which they went on a 13-game unbeaten run until back-to-back losses to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and Real Madrid in La Liga. A trophyless season is as much of a reality as it was in January, at the time of Xavi announced his departure, but the unbeaten run thrust the spotlight onto Barcelona’s promising youngsters like Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi. Perhaps the belief is that with a youth-focused approach, a cash-strapped team can build for a bright future.
That strategy will likely be at play against Valencia when Barcelona’s youngsters are expected to outshine their veterans again. That said, their more experienced players have been more than useful — Raphinha has three goals in the team’s last five games while Andreas Christensen has two, and Ferran Lopez is a week removed from a goal in El Clasico. The talent on hand is surely enough to see Xavi mark his choice to stay with a victory and a steady finish to the season.
Prediction
This is Barcelona’s game to lose and considering the players on staff, they will likely figure out a way to win with relative ease. Pick: Barcelona 2, Valencia 0
KVSP