FC Barcelona have no one to blame but themselves for crashing out of the UEFA Champions League. They had the tie in hand, on the competition’s most notorious chokers, Paris Saint-Germain, and they let it slip away. It is too bad, for Xavi and his supporters that his exit season will not end up with any real glory to speak of.
Sunday is their last chance to try and hold on to their La Liga title. It looks inevitable that this trophy will be going to back to their arch-rivals, Real Madrid, by the end of this season.
El Clasico FYIs
Kickoff: Sun Apr. 21, El Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
FC Barcelona Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Real Madrid Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
La Liga Standing, Form: Real Madrid 1st, 78 pts, WWWWD FC Barcelona 2nd 70 pts WWWWD
Google Result Probability: Real Madrid 55% Draw 23% FC Barcelona 22%
However, the El Clasico on Sunday provides one last ditch effort to try and prevent that.
FC Barcelona Starting XI Prediction at Real Madrid
Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Joao Cancelo; Pedri, Frenkie de Jong; Lamine Yamal, Ilkay Gundogan, Raphinha; Robert Lewandowski
El Clasico Prediction: Real Madrid 1, FC Barcelona 1
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.