Barcelona play Eibar in the last game of the season with the hope that Málaga manage to pull off a major upset against Real Madrid due to the three-point difference.
Form
The Catalans are in great form going in to this match with six straight wins in the league. This run has led to an exciting finale because the title is decided today. In contrast to this, Eibar are having a mediocre end to the season. In the last five games they have only had one win and a draw. However, considering their limited resources, a top half finish is really impressive.
Squads
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Gerard Piqué returns after recovering from an illness that kept him out of the Las Palmas match, which is a welcome boost. Javier Mascherano is unavailable, though, due to a thigh injury he picked up prior to the Las Palmas match. Therefore, he joins Jérémy Mathieu, Rafinha and Aleix Vidal on the injury list. Eibar has a few injuries of their own to deal with for this match. Fran Rico, Nano and Antonio Luna are all out injured. Iván Ramis is also a doubt due to lacking match fitness.
Next: Luis Enrique's comments on the lack of Barcelona B experience
History
History is limited in this fixture because Eibar earned promoted to the top division, for the first time, in 2014. This means that they have only met in the league five times with the Catalans winning each time. The fixture has seen a lot of goals in its brief history because there has been an average of 3.4 per game.
Playing Style
This match matters little for Eibar due to a win only moving them up a maximum of two place to eight in the table. They are guaranteed a top half finish, and are unable to reach the European spots. Therefore, we are unlikely to see a spirited resistance from them.
In previous games against Barcelona, Eibar have been relatively open which has led to some exciting games. However, this is a dangerous strategy because they get chances, but the firepower that Barça have usually blows them away. This game is likely to follow that pattern.
Technically, this game is one of the most important in the season because Barcelona require a victory to even have a chance of winning the title. Nonetheless, the pressure is on Los Blancos due to them having the title in their grasp, so it is theirs to lose.
Barça can just go out and enjoy the occasion due to it being the last game at the Camp Nou this season. When they play without burden, the team is marvellous to watch because they start to take more risks with this mainly applying to Neymar.
There is the Copa del Rey final against Alavés looming on the horizon for the Catalans due to it being next weekend. Regardless of this, Luis Enrique is likely to field his strongest lineup so that they can take advantage of any potential slip-up from Real.
Prediction: FC Barcelona 4-0 SD Eibar
Predicted Lineup
Marlon Santos instead of Piqué is a possibility.