Barca bid to extend their unbeaten streak to 30 matches at Sevilla
to Ricardo Bertoni’s double, his second an 83rd-minute winner. Sevilla would finish eighth that year, Sociedad second, one point behind Real Madrid.
Barca will almost certainly not surrender the league title if history repeats itself this weekend, their 11-point lead over Atletico Madrid surely too wide a gap to close, but they would give up the chance of being the first side to end a 20-team La Liga season unbeaten.
They are now three games away from matching Sociedad’s best ever single-season streak and two from equalling that same Sociedad team’s longest run without loss overall, which amounted to 38 games when including the previous season too.
After Sevilla, Barcelona play Leganes and Valencia at home, Celta Vigo and Deportivo La Coruna away before hosting Real Madrid on May 6. They then finish at home to Villarreal, away to Levante and at home to Sociedad.
This Sevilla, although sixth and set to miss out on Champions League qualification, arguably represent Barcelona’s biggest obstacle in those final nine fixtures.
Valencia, who are fourth, and Real, who would certainly revel in scuppering the bid, will offer stern tests but both at least come at the Camp Nou. Barcelona have not lost a league game on their own patch in 19 months.
Coach Ernesto Valverde has never attached much significance to the unbeaten streak, preferring to focus his players’ gaze on the title, but as that prize becomes increasingly secure, he might see it as a welcome bonus.
“We’re delighted with how things are going and that record says we must be doing something right,” Valverde said in February.
For his own legacy, it would give him something over Pep Guardiola, who oversaw only one league loss in 2009-10 and then 31 games undefeated in 2010-11, but never ended a season with a zero in the losses column.
Fatigue will certainly be a factor, and priorities too. Barcelona and Sevilla both have an opening leg of the Champions League quarterfinals to negotiate next week and, with their fates largely settled in the league, each may choose to rotate.
Sevilla are at home to Bayern Munich on Tuesday and Barca host Roma on Wednesday.