The last jornada of the La Liga season. What a roller-coaster ride. Great to see races for the title (Barca and Real), Champions League (Sevilla and Mallorca), Europa League (Getafe and Villarreal), and survival (Valladolid, Racing, Malaga, Tenerife, and Xerez).
The 19-man squad for tomorrow's match:
GKs: Diego López and Oliva.
Ds: Javi Venta, Ángel, Gonzalo, Godin, Capdevila, Marcano, and Musacchio.
MFs: Cani, Pires, Cazorla, Bruno, Senna, Ibagaza, Escudero, and Fuster.
Fs: Rossi and Nilmar.
Llorente is suspended due to his red card against Valencia, but Capdevila won his appeal and Godin has shaken off a knock. And Marcano and Musacchio return from injury and suspension, respectively. Looks like a 4-4-2 with Diego Lopez in goal, meaning that Xavi Oliva will not play in La Liga this season. But at least he's not going down to Segunda B.
In other news, Cani returns to his former ground and is likely to return next season, along with Ibagaza. Good news for two of our better performers this season.
Two scenarios to make Europe:
- Beat Getafe's result (away to Atletico) tomorrow afternoon. Unlikely considering that Atletico will play a B team.
- Hope Sevilla beats Atletico in the Copa del Rey final on Wednesday (here's why). Decent chance, but Atleti knows how to win big matches (except against Real).
How much is the Europa League worth? Making the knockout rounds was worth around 2.5 million Euros this season (h/t Kenez), and every penny will matter next year. So let's win one for Roig, Garrido, and the soon-to-be-former players. The match starts at 2 pm Eastern Time, the same time as Atletico-Getafe (on GolTV). Endavant Villarreal!