Hostilities resume in La Liga on Tuesday when Barcelona will hope to extend their lead at the top of the table to 14 points by taking advantage of a potential slip-up from Real Madrid when they face Real Sociedad later on Tuesday night.

Barcelona still looks good for the La Liga title at the end of the season as they currently lead the table with 11 points with seven games left in the season. The Blaugrana at the weekend managed a 4-0 win against Real Betis after seeing Real Madrid beat Almeria 4-2.

Both teams would play on the same night once again as Barcelona welcomes Osasuna to Camp Nou while Real Madrid travels to Real Sociedad. Incidentally, Osasuna will face Real Madrid in the Copa Del Rey final this weekend, and Xavi has a lot of praise for what their manager has done this season and expects a tough game from a team he considers tough.

“We analyzed them; they are a very tough team. On Saturday, they will play a very important match, perhaps the most important match in their history, so I don’t know what Jagoba [Osasuna manager Jagoba Arrasate] will do. The last match [Saturday’s 4-0 win over Real Betis], we did what we had to in an intense match. We pushed hard and got a vital three points. It’s possible we’ll put out a similar team against Osasuna.” Xavi said.

The manager is also expecting that Robert Lewandowski will continue his scoring form after a tough set of games that saw him go on a 4-match goal drought before scoring in their last two games against Valladolid and Betis.

All eyes will also be on record maker 15-year-old Lamine Yamal, who made his La Liga debut against Real Betis. Xavi believes he would get more minutes and participate more in the first team’s run-in.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu