Can Barcelona salvage a respectable league finish under Xavi?

It’s been a strange sort of season for Barcelona. The departure of Lionel Messi back in the summer left a gaping void at the club — the ultimate punishment for the Catalan’s side financial mismanagement over the previous decade. Having not been able to afford to keep Messi at the club, the Argentine was forced to head to Paris Saint-Germain, and Barcelona were staring down the barrel of an extremely challenging season.

With Ronald Koeman in charge, the campaign got off to a poor start. Barcelona were unable to gain any consistency in their results, and the Dutchman was soon given his marching orders, with club legend Xavi brought in to replace him. There’s no doubt that the mood has lifted since Xavi’s arrival, and although any kind of title challenge is out of the question according to the online betting with Sky bet, there is still hope that they could qualify for next season’s Champions League, with the team currently sitting in fifth place in the league table.

A positive January transfer window has given supporters reason to be optimistic ahead of the rest of the campaign. The arrival of Ferran Torres from Manchester City marks a quality arrival to bolster Barcelona’s creativity in attacking midfield, whilst the last-minute capture of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on a free transfer from Arsenal brings a welcome boost in the striker position.

Following the unfortunate retirement of Sergio Agüero for medical reasons, Barcelona were left a little light up front, but Aubameyang has a chance to revitalise his career after stagnating somewhat in north London. The Spanish league should suit his natural game, and with quality players around him, he should get the service required to help fire Barcelona towards a positive end to the season.

While the league title is beyond them, there is still the small matter of the Europa League, where Barcelona are making a rare appearance after finishing third in their Champions League group earlier in the season. They’ll face Napoli in the first knockout round of the competition, and Xavi may well fancy getting his hands on a trophy which the club hasn’t lifted in its history.

The failed Champions League campaign was symptomatic of the malaise that has dragged Barcelona down for the last year or so. Usually they are a familiar presence in the knockout rounds of Europe’s premier club competition, but while their dismal exit brought misery to the supporters, it offers a chance to flex their superiority in the Europa League and perhaps get their hands on a major European honour.

It’s hard not to feel sorry for Barcelona’s supporters. When a fanbase becomes so accustomed to success, and a certain standard of performance each week, it can be devastating to see a team suddenly drop down a level. However, there is still time for Xavi to make this a season to remember. Such is the wreckage he inherited from Koeman, there is an opportunity to end this campaign on a real positive, and with his new signings ready to take La Liga by storm, who knows what could happen between now and May.