Barcelona will be aiming to bounce back from their heavy Copa del Rey defeat to Real Madrid when they resume their La Liga campaign at home to Girona on Monday night.
Xavi’s side are currently top of the table, 11 points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, while Girona sit 11th, seven points clear of the relegation zone in Spain’s top flight.
With 11 points more than Real Madrid in second place, Barcelona is now in prime position to win La Liga this season.
However, Carlo Ancelotti’s team were beaten by Villarreal on Saturday night, a result that was celebrated by Barcelona.
The Catalan team was eliminated from the Copa del Rey last week by fierce rivals Real Madrid, which would have prevented them from winning the championship except for a massive collapse at this time in the season.
Having been eliminated from both the Champions League and the Europa League this season, winning La Liga is all that is needed for barca to have a respectable season.
The severity of Girona’s task is evident from Blaugrana’s best home record in La Liga this season, where they have accrued 35 points from 13 games while scoring 27 goals and allowing just two.
Girona will also be up against a squad that is trying to recover from a significant defeat.
Xavi will once again be without the services of Ousmane Dembele, Pedri, Andreas Christensen, and Frenkie de Jong.
Meanwhile, Aleix Garcia, a crucial midfielder for Girona, has resumed training ahead of the match, and the 25-year-old is anticipated to start again.