It all comes down to this. The final matchday of the 2015/16 La Liga season is here. A day all of the footballing world has been waiting for.
Real Madrid play Deportivo La Coruna while Barcelona take on Granada with the Catalan club leading Los Blancos by a single point. A win against Granada would ensure a sixth title in eight years for the defending champions whereas a draw or a loss coupled with a win for Real Madrid will see the Liga trophy go to the Bernabeu for the 33rd time.
Barcelona are slight favorites as Granada have just escaped relegation and also possess a woeful record against the defending champions. But in these sort of matches, one never knows who will stand up and win the game for the team. So here are five players who can change the course of the championship today:
1) Lionel Messi
The reigning FIFA Ballon d’Or winner and arguably one of the best players of all time; if he can’t change the game, who else can? Lionel Messi has been in brilliant form this La Liga season, scoring 26 goals as well as chipping in with 16 assists.
Even after missing the early stages of the season with a knee injury, posting such numbers just shows how ridiculous the Argentinian is. He has been the difference maker for quite a while now, showing no signs of stopping.
Granada have already felt the wrath of the 28-year-old as forward. He has scored 11 goals in eight games against them – including two hat-tricks. So we all know who they will be looking to stop.
La Pulga will be up against young on-loan left-back from Internazionale Cristiano Biraghi. The full-back does not really possess any strong defensive qualities and should expect an extremely tough day at the office trying to defend against the dribbling prowess of Messi. In the centre, Jean Sylvain Babin and Ricardo Costa will have the task of defending Messi and protecting Andres Fernandez in goal.
2) Cristiano Ronaldo
Messi’s eternal rival and perhaps the greatest goal scorer of this generation, Cristiano Ronaldo is looking at his devastating best yet again this season. He is second in the La Liga goal scoring charts with 33 strikes in 35 games, with 11 assists to his name as well.
The Portuguese superstar has already led his club to the Champions League final and will be looking to add to his tally against Deportivo. If he does, he can break another record of having scored 50 goals or more in six consecutive seasons.
The three-time Ballon d’Or winner scored a magnificent hat-trick the last time he played at the Riazor and will be Madrid’s go-to man yet again.
Ronaldo will be up against Laure at the right-back position. The 31-year-old is known for his strong ball interceptions as well as tackling skills and could also support in attack with his crossing. Ronaldo naturally likes to cut in and shoot with his right foot, so the centre-half pairing of Alenjandro Arribas and Sidnei will have a tough job to stop his pace and skill.
The forward is an aerial threat as well and it should be an interesting battle against Arribas who is very good in the air.
3) Luis Suarez
As we all know, Messi and Ronaldo are regarded as the best players in the world having shared the last eight Ballon d’Ors between them and breaking records at will. But Luis Suarez has done the unthinkable this season by outscoring the duo in the Spanish league.
The ex-Liverpool striker is in red-hot form, having scored 11 goals in the last four games with 37 strikes in total. If that wasn’t outrageous enough, he also leads the charts with Messi for most assists at 16.
His consistent goal scoring form has seen him become the biggest threat of Barcelona this season and Granada have a mighty tough task on their hands to stop him from scoring against them as well.
Suarez will also be trying to get through the defence of Babin and Ricardo Costa. The Uruguayan has scored all of his goals this La Liga season from inside the box which proves how lethal and clinical he is in the box as well as his skills to get himself in the right position at the right time.
Marking him would be the key and either of two central defenders will have to deal with his threat apart from Neymar and Messi on either wing.
4) Lucas Perez
If Deportivo La Coruna were to somehow cause an upset, Lucas Perez will surely have to play a big part in it. The 27-year-old has arguably been Deportivo’s best player this season scoring 17 goals and setting up eight others in just 35 appearances.
The Spaniard has been really instrumental in helping the Galician side avoid relegation and has become a consistent performer for the team. It will take a heroic showing from Perez to down the mighty Real Madrid, but he has shown that he is capable of it.
Lucas Perez will find himself against Sergio Ramos and Pepe. The two have cut down their rash antics this season and formed a good understanding. The key will be Perez holding up the ball and getting his other teammates Mosquero and Alberto into play and trying to build up attacks.
Perez is known for his long shots as well as his passing skills so Dani Carvajal and Marcelo will also have to be wary in defence, as they are generally attacking full-backs.
5) Youseff El-Arabi
The Moroccan has been vital in Granada’s bid to avoid relegation having helped them defeat Sevilla 4-1 last week, grabbing a goal and an assist to keep them in the top flight for yet another year. He has top scored for Granada with 16 goals in 34 appearances this season and is their most important player going forward.
Defeating Barcelona is no mean feat and Granada will need to have one of their best days on the field if that’s to come true. El Arabi will be majorly responsible if they come close to defeating or drawing against them.
He already knows how it feels to have dented the Catalans’ title hopes as he was present in the starting lineup of the 2013/14 season game when Barcelona lost 1-0 in Andalusia, with Brahimi scoring the winner. Could El Arabi be the one this time?
El-Arabi will be up against the pairing of Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano who have not conceded a single goal in the past four La Liga games. He will have a tough task of going through them and will count on his understanding with ex-Barcelona players Isaac Cuenca and Ruben Rochina to create goal scoring opportunities and finish them off whenever provided with a chance.
