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Barcelona in the Homestretch

BARCELONA, SPAIN - APRIL 09:  Thiago Alcantara of Barcelona looks up during the la Liga match between FC Barcelona and UD Almeria at the Camp Nou stadium on April 9, 2011 in Barcelona, Spain.  (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN - APRIL 09: Thiago Alcantara of Barcelona looks up during the la Liga match between FC Barcelona and UD Almeria at the Camp Nou stadium on April 9, 2011 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)
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The La Liga , Copa, and Champions League titles are still all there to be won. All competitions are coming to an end with very important games in the coming month. Barca are favorites to win all three but the squad is begining to look a bit stretched and tired as evidenced by the tough time they had against Almeria on Saturday.

With Abidal ruled out for the rest of the season and Puyol out injured for God knows how long, the defensive pool is looking rather shallow. Javier Masscherano picked up a one match ban on Saturday and is set to miss El Clasico this coming Saturday at the Bernabeu. This is a very important match and our defense will surely be tested.

On the attacking end, David Villa has failed to find the back of the net in eight games now. And Bojan has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee ligament injury. Still this team is full of world class players that can carry the team through when the squad depth seems lacking, and there's a nice 8 point cushion between them and second place Real Madrid.

Good news is the emergence of Thiago Alcantara. Pep looks like he's trying to integrate Thiago into the squad (or at least give the others a rest) and we're getting to see his talents in the first team. He appears to be the true heir to Xavi's role in the center of midfield. Thiago recognizes that being with the first team is "a reward" and said, "I'll take the opportunity with everything I have."

Pep only needed a little encouragement from our blog here. Should we be expecting a shout out in the near future?

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