La Liga 2016-17: Analysis of Barcelona's fixtures for the season

BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 17: Lionel Messi (L) of FC Barcelona celebrates with his teammates (L-R) Denis Suarez, Munir El Haddadi, Arda Turan and Lucas Digne after scoring his team's third goal during the Spanish Super Cup Final second leg match between FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC at Camp Nou on August 17, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
FC Barcelona play Real Betis in the first game of the season
BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 10: Head coach Luis Enrique Martinez of FC Barcelona speaks during the team official presentation ahead of the Joan Gamper trophy match between FC Barcelona and UC Sampdoria at Camp Nou on August 10, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
Luis Enrique talking before the Gamper trophy game

January

The first game of 2017 comes with a visit to Villarreal who sacked their coach Marcelino after a row with the players in pre-season and are not expected to perform that well this time around. The two away trips to Eibar and Real Betis don't seem to offer much resistance to the strong Barca side.

A solo home game against Las Palmas this month is a sure shot three points for the home side.

February

Home games with Bilbao and Leganes are a must win as the league gets to the business end of the competition. An away trip to Alaves is an easy one but the other away fixture against Atletico Madrid at their home ground is a match to watch out for. Diego Simeone has made the Calderon a fortress as he looks to achieve the feat of winning the league in 2014.

March

This is the easiest month of this season for the champions as they are given three home games in the month of March. Sporting Gijon, Celta Vigo and Valencia have lost handsomely in recent times at Camp Nou and that seems to be the case that is going to happen this season too.

The away fixture against the newly promoted, Deportivo seems to be an easy ride as Barca will look to go unbeaten and win all their games in March.

April

This is the busiest month of the campaign as it features seven games. Home games against Sevilla, Sociedad and Osasuna are the hope of all three points this April. Away trips to Granada, Malaga and the Derby against Espanyol are the matches in which the champions can drop points at the end of the season.

The big match is the away game against Real Madrid as this fixture, so late in the season will definitely be a title decider.

Last April was a horrific month for Barca as they lost three matches and gave Madrid a way back into the league. But, a solid start to their season meant the Catalans won the league by a meagre one point. Luis Enrique must avoid last season's mistakes if they want to do a hattrick of League titles.

May

Home games against Villarreal and Eibar are winnable as Eibar are expected to be relegated this season and won't be that tough of a test. The away trip to Las Palmas is expected to be a total riot for Barcelona.

Predicted finish: 1st

Barcelona will run out winners in La Liga as with this summer's signings, they have a good depth in their squad compared to the Madrid clubs. Barca suffered from fatigue in the later stages of last season which meant they were out in the quarters against Atletico in the Champions League.

Another double or treble can be expected from this squad as MSN guarantees goals and with added cover in defence, Barca can have a solid campaign on all fronts.

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Edited by Staff Editor
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