Barcelona on cusp of eighth title in 11 seasons, but will players be rested v Levante?

Andy West 17:45 26/04/2019
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Barcelona will secure their second successive title – and their eighth in the last 11 seasons – if they can overcome relegation-threatened Levante at the Camp Nou on Saturday night.

    With the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Liverpool just around the corner, though, manager Ernesto Valverde faces a selection dilemma ahead of the game: does he go all out to seal the title as soon as possible, or risk dropping points by resting his key players?

    The likely composition of Valverde’s starting line-up is the first of our talking points ahead of what could prove to be another memorable occasion for Barca.

    FULL STRENGTH FOR THE TITLE?

    Could the likes of Suarez and Messi be rested against Levante?

    Could the likes of Suarez and Messi be rested against Levante?

    Should the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique really be risked for a game which effectively means very little to Barca – even if they fail to win this weekend, they will have three more opportunities to do so – when the serious threat posed by Liverpool is just four days away?

    After all, if anything should happen to any of those stars, weakening Barca in their bid for European supremacy, Valverde would look pretty stupid for taking such an unnecessary gamble.

    However, that simplistic rational point of view overlooks the human element of the decision: Messi and the rest, but particularly Messi, live and breathe for football and winning titles.

    They just want to play, especially when the chance to secure silverware in front of their own supporters is in front of their noses, and taking the ‘easy choice’ of putting their feet up on the sidelines is not as straightforward as it seems.

    Perhaps Tuesday’s game at Alaves can serve as a guide to Valverde’s thinking: Messi, Arthur, Ivan Rakitic, Jordi Alba and Clement Lenglet were all rested for that game, so they could well return while Sergio Roberto, Suarez, Pique and Busquets – who all started in midweek – will be given a break.

    PARTY TIME AT THE CAMP NOU?

    Barcelona will lift an eighth La Liga title crown in 11 seasons with victory.

    Barcelona will lift an eighth La Liga title crown in 11 seasons with victory.

    Preparations are certainly in place if Barca do take the three points they need to wrap up the title, with Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales due to attend the game so he can hand over the league-winning trophy to Lionel Messi.

    The club has planned a fireworks display to precede that potential presentation, which will also see the players wear a specially-printed commemorative t-shirt bearing the slogan ‘8 out of 11: the extraordinary that appears normal’ in reference to the number of league titles secured by the Blaugrana since 2008.

    Barca’s impending title triumph has already sparked some debate in the Spanish media over whether their feat of winning eight out of the last 11 La Ligas should be regarded as an even greater achievement than Real Madrid’s recent haul of four Champions League crowns in five years.

    Real boss Zinedine Zidane unwittingly argued the case in Barca’s favour by insisting it’s much more difficult to win the domestic crown because it contains more games over a longer period and, if the title is taken this weekend, we can expect the ‘8 out of 11’ versus ‘4 out of 5’ debate to intensify.

    CAN LEVANTE OUTSCORE MESSI AND CO?

    FBL-ESP-LIGA-LEVANTE-BARCELONA

    Barca’s quest to secure the title might be the headline grabber, but realistically the game is much more meaningful for visiting Levante in their bid to avoid relegation.

    Paco Lopez’s team gained a much-needed and confidence-inspiring 4-0 victory over Real Betis on Wednesday night, ending a sequence of nine games without a win which had left them inside the bottom three.

    The midweek victory propelled them up three places, but with four teams separated by just three points Levante are far from safe, and they will be fighting hard for every point.

    The focal point of the Valencia-based team’s attacking play is captain Jose Luis Morales, a tall and pacy winger or forward who has recorded 11 goals and five assists this season.

    But Levante’s problem is at the other end of the field: they have conceded 61 goals in the current league campaign, more than any other team in La Liga except rock-bottom Rayo Vallecano (62), and Wednesday’s clean sheet was their first in two and a half months.

    It’s unlikely they will be able to resist Barca’s attack this weekend, so Morales and on-loan Real Madrid frontman Borja Mayoral will need to be on top form to take anything from the game.

    Recommended