Barcelona will be bidding to make it eight La Liga victories in a row when they welcome relegation-threatened Cadiz to Camp Nou on Monday night.
The Catalan giants are currently second in the table, 12 points behind leaders Real Madrid with a game in hand, while Cadiz sit 18th, one point behind 17th-placed Mallorca with a match spare.
Match preview
Barcelona hopes of lifting some silverware this season all but came to an end on Thursday evening, when they suffered a 3-2 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final, which saw them lose 4-3 on aggregate.
Xavi's side can still catch La Liga leaders Real Madrid, but it is difficult to imagine Los Blancos dropping enough points over the next few weeks to allow Barcelona to finish at the summit, as the gap is 12 points, albeit with the Catalan outfit having a game in hand.
Barcelona are level on points with third-placed Sevilla, meanwhile, and actually only three points ahead of fifth-placed Real Betis, so their position in the Champions League spots is not secure.
That said, the Catalan side are on a seven-game winning run in Spain's top flight, including a 3-2 success over Levante last weekend, with Luuk de Jong netting the winner in the 92nd minute of the contest.
Barcelona have the fifth-best home record in La Liga this season, picking up 32 points from their 14 matches, but Cadiz have secured points in eight of their 15 away league fixtures this term, and the visitors are currently battling for their lives towards the bottom of the table.
Indeed, Cadiz are 18th in the table on 28 points, one point behind 17th-placed Mallorca with a game in hand, so they can certainly still escape the relegation zone before the end of the season.
The Yellow Submarine were excellent on their return to the top flight last term, ultimately finishing 12th, but they have found it more difficult to compete during the 2021-22 campaign.
Sergio Gonzalez's side will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 home loss to Real Betis last weekend, but they have been beaten in just two of their last eight league fixtures, which has kept them in touch with the teams just above them, including Granada, who also have 29 points at this stage of the season.
Cadiz have a tough end to the season on paper, though, facing Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla, Elche and Real Sociedad, and they will not want to head to Anoeta on the final weekend needing a result.
Los Piratas actually took four points off Barcelona in La Liga last season, while they held the Catalan outfit to a goalless draw when the two teams locked horns for the reverse fixture back in September.
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- W
- L
- D
- W
- L
- W
- D
- L
Team News
Barcelona have been hit with the news that Pedri is set to miss the remainder of the campaign with the hamstring injury that he suffered against Frankfurt on Thursday night.
Samuel Umtiti and Sergi Roberto are also out of this match, while Gerard Pique and Ansu Fati are also out of the squad despite the pair recently returning to training.
Ronald Araujo will not feature for the home side through suspension, so Clement Lenglet could feature at the back with Pique not being risked, while Gavi is expected to take Pedri's spot in midfield.
There are unlikely to be any surprises in the final third of the field, though, with Ousmane Dembele, Ferran Torres and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang set to feature as the front three.
As for Cadiz, Varazdat Haroyan and Florin Andone will miss the match through injury, while Iza is a doubt.
The visitors will also be missing Ruben Alcaraz, as the midfielder picked up a yellow card during the league defeat to Real Betis last time out, but Jose Mari will be back from a ban of his own and should start.
Lucas Perez and Alvaro Negredo should continue as the front two in a 4-4-2 formation, with Ivan Alejo and Oussama Idrissi operating in the wide areas for the away side.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Alves, Lenglet, E Garcia, Alba; F de Jong, Busquets, Gavi; Dembele, Aubameyang, Torres
Cadiz possible starting lineup:
Ledesma; Akapo, Chust, Hernandez, Espino; Alejo, Mari, Fede, Idrissi; Negredo, Perez
We say: Barcelona 2-1 Cadiz
This has the potential to be a tricky match for Barcelona, as Cadiz are fighting for the points to remain in the division. The visitors will also be the fresher of the two teams, but we are expecting the Catalan giants to make it eight league victories in a row courtesy of a narrow success.
Top tip
body check tags ::
Previews by email
