With only a few games left to be played before the Christmas break, Barcelona can give themselves a real shot in the arm if they can get it together on the pitch.
Although the Catalans are still adrift of the top teams, they do have games in hand and, if they can put a little run together, there’s no telling where they’ll be by the time of the presidential elections in January.
Certainly, if Barca want to be in the conversation when it comes to La Liga title talk, then they need to begin to move up the table.Three games in a week could well shape how the rest of their season looks, beginning with league leaders, Real Sociedad, on Wednesday.
Despite La Real only losing one game this season and looking wonderfully well-equipped in all departments, Barcelona should start the match as favourites.
Why? Camp Nou has become a real bogey ground for the Basques over the years, and you have to go back to the 90s to find the last time a Real Sociedad side were able to leave with a victory.
That said, with the likes of David Silva pulling the strings and Alexander Isak amongst others all playing well, Barca will need to be on their guard.
Perhaps their biggest advantage will be in the fact that La Real will come to play football. Barca always seem to function better as a team when there are spaces to play into.
Against Cadiz and Levante, Barca found it hard to break them down but both sides set their still out to play on the counter very early in each game, and the Blaugranes just didn’t have enough about them to be able to capitalise.
Three days after Real Sociedad, Valencia visit the Camp Nou for what is one of La Liga’s classic fixtures.
Los Che sit four points and three places below the Catalans and have been decimated by wholesale departures.
Javi Gracia has at least managed to steady the ship and his team are the only opponent to beat Real Sociedad so far this season, which evidences how dangerous they’ll be for Ronald Koeman’s side.
If those fixtures can be negotiated successfully, a struggling Real Valladolid represent the last fixture before Christmas, and another winnable game.
It’s a big ask given how they’re playing, but if Barca can get all nine points in the bag, their situation will look a whole lot brighter heading into the festive period.
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