Two clubs in opposite halves of the Spanish Liga BBVA table will do battle today in a league match between Barcelona and Osasuna. The first-division battle scheduled for 12 p.m. ET will be held at the Nou Camp in Barcelona and can be live streamed here free.
Despite advancing in the UEFA Champions League, Barcelona enter the weekend in dire straits. The Catalan giants fell to Real Valladolid last weekend and dropped to third in the table. With El Clásico on the horizon next week, the club faces the possibility of falling a full seven points behind the league leaders Real Madrid. That deficit can reach double digits if the club overlooks and stumbles over a visiting Osasuna side that earned a scoreless draw against them in October.
Even Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino is aware of the challenges ahead (h/t to Sam Borden of the New York Times). "This game calms things down for a while," Martino said. "But in the weekend we will be back in the eye of the storm again."
Will Barcelona be able to weather that storm at the Nou Camp, or will they fall further behind the Spanish elite? Tell us @SportsWN
Tactical Preview
Player to Watch: Osasuna's Oriel Riera enters the weekend with nine goals to credit. He'll need to add more to that total if the club is capture another result against the Catalan giants.
Barcelona's Projected Lineup (4-3-3): Valdés; Alba, Mascherano, Piqué, Alves; Iniesta, Busquets, Xavi; Neymar, Messi, Sánchez
Osasuna's Projected Lineup (4-2-3-1): Andrés; Damiá, Arribas; Loties, Bertrán; Silva, Puñal; Armenteros, Torres, Cejudo; Riera
(h/t to WhoScored)
Spanish Table Entering Week 28
| Rnk | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | P |
| 1 | Real Madrid | 27 | 21 | 4 | 2 | 76 | 26 | 50 | 67 |
| 2 | Atlético Madrid | 27 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 63 | 21 | 42 | 64 |
| 3 | FC Barcelona | 27 | 20 | 3 | 4 | 74 | 22 | 52 | 63 |
| 4 | Athletic Club | 27 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 50 | 31 | 19 | 51 |
| 5 | Villarreal CF | 27 | 13 | 5 | 9 | 47 | 33 | 14 | 44 |
| 6 | Real Sociedad | 27 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 46 | 36 | 10 | 43 |
| 7 | Sevilla FC | 27 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 47 | 42 | 5 | 41 |
| 8 | Valencia CF | 27 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 39 | 38 | 1 | 36 |
| 9 | Espanyol | 27 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 32 | 33 | -1 | 36 |
| 10 | Levante | 27 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 26 | 34 | -8 | 36 |
| 11 | Celta de Vigo | 27 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 32 | 39 | -7 | 30 |
| 12 | Granada CF | 27 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 24 | 36 | -12 | 30 |
| 13 | Málaga CF | 27 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 24 | 35 | -9 | 29 |
| 14 | Osasuna | 27 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 24 | 39 | -15 | 29 |
| 15 | Elche CF | 27 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 24 | 40 | -16 | 29 |
| 16 | Getafe CF | 27 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 23 | 42 | -19 | 27 |
| 17 | Real Valladolid | 27 | 5 | 11 | 11 | 29 | 44 | -15 | 26 |
| 18 | UD Almería | 27 | 7 | 5 | 15 | 25 | 46 | -23 | 26 |
| 19 | Rayo Vallecano | 27 | 8 | 2 | 17 | 26 | 59 | -32 | 26 |
| 20 | Real Betis | 27 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 56 | -33 | 18 |
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