Barcelona have a chance to continue their steady finish to an up-and-down season on Monday when they take on Real Sociedad as the heavy favorites in the match.
Xavi's side enters the game in third place, chiefly because second place Girona played on Friday. Girona's 2-2 draw with Alaves, though, means Barcelona are just two points behind them and can leapfrog them with a win over sixth-place Real Sociedad. The team seems destined to stay in and around that position with an eight-point gap between them and fifth-place Athletic Club, but a win might be quite the upset since they have won just twice in their last five games.
Here's what you need to know before tuning in.
How to watch and odds
- Date: Monday, May 13 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys -- Barcelona, Spain
- Live stream: ESPN+
- Odds: Barcelona -140; Draw +270; Real Sociedad +360
Storylines
After the one-two punch of a collapse against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League semifinals and a dramatic loss to Real Madrid in El Clasico, Barcelona have steadied the ship with two wins out of two. Both came in high-scoring matches with back-to-back 4-2 wins against Valencia and Girona, a stretch of games in which Robert Lewandowski scored four times.
Another win is likely in the cards for Barcelona, who have scored 12 times in their last five games. It allows the team to outscore their opponents more often than not, a skill that comes in handy quite often considering their somewhat porous defense. They have just one clean sheet in their last six -- a 1-0 win over Cadiz a month ago -- and have conceded 11 times in their last five games.
Prediction
Real Sociedad's decent goalscoring ability, combined with Barcelona's tendency to concede, means the visitors might get on the board but the hosts are the heavy favorites for a reason and seem unlikely to squander the opportunity to pick up another three points. Pick: Barcelona 3, Real Sociedad 1
