Barcelona have the LaLiga Santander title in their hands, and on Thursday they could go top of the table if they win their game in hand against Granada at the Camp Nou.
There is understanding at the club, however, that it might be necessary to win their final six games of the season if they are to be crowned as champions.
Granada, Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Levante, Celta Vigo and Eibar all stand in Barcelona’s way, so if they want their destiny to remain in their hands, they will have to pick up maximum points – 18 from 18 – from these fixtures.
That is easier said than done, though, as Barcelona have won the final six league matches of the season just once since 2000, with that coming in the 2016/17 campaign under Luis Enrique.
Barcelona won their final seven matches of the season in LaLiga Santander that year, yet that was not enough for them to be crowned champions. Despite racking up 90 points, they were still three shy of Real Madrid’s tally of 93.
In the 2009/10, 2012/13 and 2014/15 seasons, Barcelona won five games and drew one to close out the LaLiga Santander season. In the others since the turn of the century, the 2016/17 campaign aside, they stumbled on more than one occasion.
Ronald Koeman could therefore make history if his Barcelona side replicate the achievement of Luis Enrique’s side and win their final six games to end the season.
Should Barcelona do so, it would see Koeman win the league title in his debut season in charge, something that would have been almost unthinkable earlier in the campaign.
Yet, it will not be easy for Barcelona, as they already slipped up against three of the six teams they will face in their remaining six fixtures during the first half of the campaign, having drawn against Valencia and Eibar and lost away at Atletico Madrid.