You already know the latest news surrounding FC Barcelona, the manager situation! This past weekend saw Xavi announce that he’ll be stepping down at the end of the season. The visit from Osasuna tomorrow night will serve as the first match of the lame duck Xavi era. He will depart as a club legend, and despite the struggles this season, there is still glory that could yet be achieved in before his time is up.
Xavi will also depart with at least two trophies as a manager, having won La Liga and the Spanish Supercopas last season.
FC Barcelona vs Osasuna FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Jan. 27, 6:30 CET, Olympic Stadium, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Barca Preview Material: Team News and Starting XI Prediction
Nine Leading Xavi Potential Replacement Candidates: go here
La Liga Standing, Form: Osasuna 12th, 26 pts, DWWLW FC Barcelona 3rd, 44 pts, LWWWD
Google Result Probability: Osasuna 10% Draw 17% FC Barcelona 73%
Xavi is still a club legend, and we’ll look at who might replace him in the next post.
Barca Team News
There is no change in the team fitness situation from where it was heading into the embarrassing 5-3 loss to Villarreal on Saturday. The same guys who were out injured on the weekend will remain sidelined here.
FC Barcelona Starting XI Prediction vs Osasuna
Inaki Pena; Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Joao Cancelo; Frenkie De Jong, Ilkay Gundogan, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Vitor Roque, Ferran Torres.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager 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’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.