A hugely successful weekend has given Barcelona multiple reasons to celebrate as they have not won the Copa Del Rey, but are now in pole position to win the La Liga title, thanks to an insipid 0-0 draw between Getafe and Real Madrid.
Atletico Madrid sit atop the current LaLiga table on 70 points, Real Madrid on 67 and Barcelona on 65. However, Barcelona have a game in hand on both teams, and a home game against Atletico Madrid to come. If Barcelona win all their remaining league games, they will be the event champions.
The several factors in play to help them here are:
Champions League
Real Madrid, still in the Champions League, play Chelsea home and away in the semifinals. The Los Blancos have an excellent chance of making it to the Champions League final, which means the extra load of games is likely to impact their league performances.
Zinedine Zidane has survived and succeeded at Madrid where others floundered, but engineering a Spanish league and Champions League double feat this season could possibly be beyond even his remarkable talents.
Madrid are likely to finish second at best – even winning their eight remaining games puts them a point behind Barcelona if they win their nine games.
Home game v Atletico Madrid (08 May)
The season decider will most likely be when Barcelona host Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou on Matchday 35. Barcelona’s timely resurgence in form means they are hot favorites for this tie, although they will still need to win all their remaining games.
Lionel Messi
With his spectacular return to form since the start of the year pushing Barcelona back into the title race, supported by a flourishing young cast of talented stars around him, Messi is inevitably the biggest X-factor in the title race. Should he continue to play to his potential – and there’s no apparent reason why he shouldn’t as he has been stellar in recent weeks – Barcelona should get to the end of the season with the title in their grasp.
Barcelona need nine wins from nine games to win the league title. Anyone bold enough to wager a bet against them?