Barcelona close in on title
A 20 midweek win over Alavés, courtesy of secondhalf goals from Carles Alena and Luis Suarez, means FC Barcelona are just one victory away from retaining their La Liga title.
But it still remains a question of when and not if they will be crowned champions and next week's Champions League semifinal against Liverpool has assumed priority.
For that reason Ernesto Valverde decided to leave Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba on the bench ahead of next week's first leg at home and while that stunted Barcelona, they were rarely in danger of being tested.
They enjoyed 82 per cent of possession in the first half but produced little from it. Suarez had a couple of shots saved by goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco, with Philippe Coutinho having an effort blocked after following up from one of those saves in the sixth minute.
That was about the best the visitors could manage in the first 45 minutes as Alavés worked hard to prevent themselves being opened up, happy to rely on counterattacks, and although Coutinho saw a lot of the ball he could not emulate Messi's creativity.
Alavés were dealt a blow when they lost Diego Rolan on the stroke of halftime, with Darko Brasanac replacing him for the start of the second half.
Within 10 minutes of the restart Suarez dummied a pass from Sergi Roberto to allow Alena to collect the ball on the penalty spot and fire home the opening goal.
Confusing scenes followed moments later when Gerard Pique thought he had forced home from close range but teammate Samuel Umtiti was flagged offside on the goal line only for the referee to be urged by VAR to consult a replay, after which he went back to award a handball against Tomas Pina.
Suarez did the rest and with the game won Ernesto Valverde sent on Messi for the final halfhour.
He soon forced Pacheco into a save after a trademark weaving run but Messi and Barcelona played well within themselves in the closing stages knowing their greatest challenge awaits in eight days' time.
Goalscorer Alena wants to celebrate clinching the title in front of their own fans this weekend.
"I'd prefer to win it on Saturday at home and celebrate it with our supporters, although if we win it before then it will be welcome," he said, according to Marca.
"We deserve this league title, we've been the best."
Alavés have gone six games without a victory, which has put a big dent in their European hopes.
Coach Abelardo Fernandez said, according to the club's Twitter feed:
"I will continue fighting as I have done every day since I came to Deportivo Alavés in December 2017."