Next Saturday, 20th of December 2014, the former European champions, Barcelona, will entertain Córdoba at Camp Nou for round 16 of the Spanish Liga BBVA, the last match of the season for both teams this year and that will have, at the same time, a special significance for the Catalan side, who cannot allow any more slip ups if they still want to keep their aspirations to win the title intact.

Barcelona’s trips to Madrid this season are proving to be a true nightmare for the Blaugranas, as they have already lost five points from two matches, three against Real Madrid and another two last weekend against Getafe. Barça were in control for of large periods of the match, but not even their astonishing percentage (76%) of ball possession was enough to claim the three points. Messi hit the woodwork from a free-kick during the second-half, in what was Barça’s best opportunity to score, while none of their 23 goal attempts was accurate enough to break an inspired Vicente Guaita that managed to frustrate all the Catalans’ inglorious efforts.

Barcelona’s draw against the Azulones allowed Real Madrid to increase their advantage at the top of the table to four points after defeating Almeria at Andalusia last Friday.

The match against Córdoba poses a great opportunity for the Catalans to bounce back in style, as they will face a fairly more modest team that is currently struggling near the pits of the relegation zone. For that particular clash, Luis Enrique is not yet certain if he will be able to rely on the contribution of the Brazilian internationals Neymar and Dani Alves, who are still recovering from injury.

As for Córdoba, the La Liga’s newcomers are going through a positive period, as they managed to snatch four points in the last two matches. An epic win at the Cathedral San Mamés two weeks ago helped Miroslav Djukic’s boys lift their heads and at the same time pushed the team away from the relegation zone. Last weekend, Córdoba didn’t manage to get anything better than a goalless draw at home against Levante, but it is fair to highlight that they did not concede a single goal in their last two league clashes.

The arrival of the Serbian manager brought in a new identity to the team but next weekend’s match against Barcelona may pinch their confidence.

Despite all the recent improvements of Los Califas, they will probably not stand a chance against a far superior team as Barcelona, who tend to punish their opponents very hard when playing at Camp Nou.

Barcelona

Stats: W-4 L-0 D-1

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Córdoba

Stats: W-1 L-2 D-2

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Possible Line-ups

Barcelona (4-3-3) - Bravo - Adriano - Mascherano - Piqué - Jordi Alba - Busquets - Xavi - Iniesta - Pedro - Suárez - Messi

Córdoba (4-2-3-1) - J. Carlos - Pantic - Campabadal - López - Crespo - Deivid - Luso - Fidel - Cartabia - Garcia - Ghilas

Prediction

Barcelona 3 Córdoba 0