FC Barcelona travel to the RCDE Stadium to face off against Catalan rivals RCD Espanyol in what could be a title-deciding match. With 11 points and a game in hand the distance between Barca and second-placed Real Madrid, it is almost a certainty that La Blaugrana will become champions at some point this season.
However, Xavi Hernandez and his troops will be hoping to secure the title as early as possible to cement Barcelona’s 27th La Liga title in history. Yet, they might still just have to wait a little while longer to place their hands on the trophy itself.
As reported by Ramon Fuentes of Mundo Deportivo, the Catalans will not be presented by La Liga with the title of the Spanish first division at the RCDE stadium. The idea is that the official presentation of the title will be done at Spotify Camp Nou instead, which would be on the 20th of May when the Catalans will host Real Sociedad for Matchday 35.
The reasoning behind this is primarily the fact that FC Barcelona themselves would prefer to celebrate the title with their own fans at home, where the excitement and reception would understandably be at its peak.
Moreover, there is an understanding that presenting the title to the Catalan club at the RCDE stadium would cause massive agitation and likely a negative response from the Espanyol faithful, both due to FC Barcelona being a direct rival as well as Espanyol themselves being in a vulnerable situation due to their ongoing relegation battle.
Should FC Barcelona not win tonight and mathematically not be declared champions until their next home game on the 20th of May, the next possible date for the title presentation would be the penultimate game of the season, which would be the next closest home game for FC Barcelona. They would be facing Mallorca at the Spotify Camp Nou for Matchday 37 on the 28th of May.
