For FC Barcelona, there is nothing left to play for this season but pride. That and the pride it will take to reverse what happened last weekend, when Girona beat the Blaugranes to supplant them in the La Liga table. The rest of the run-in starts with a visit from Real Sociedad on Monday night.
We’ll see if Barca still have enough left in the tank this season to try and finish runner-up to arch-rivals Real Madrid.
FC Barcelona vs Real Sociedad FYIs
Kickoff: Mon May 13, 8pm, Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
La Liga Form, Standing: FC Barcelona LWLWW 3rd, 73 pts Real Sociedad WLDDW 6th, 54 pts
Result Probability: FC Barcelona 53% Draw 25% Real Sociedad 22%
Team News vs Real Sociedad
No changes of any sort here. Gavi, Alex Balde and Frenkie De Jong all remain done for the season. However, there are no new fitness concerns. For Xavi, these last few matches should really be about trying to build for next season.
See what you have and what you don’t have, and then try to build upon that.
Starting XI Prediction vs Real Sociedad
Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Joao Cancelo; Pedri, Ilkay Gundogan, Andreas Christensen; Joao Felix, Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.