After the big disappointment of losing the La Liga title to their biggest rivals Real Madrid, Barcelona will look to end their season on a high by clinching the Copa Del Rey with a win over Alaves at the Vicente Calderon, which will host its final competitive fixture.
Barcelona, by their own ridiculously-high standards, have gone through a forgettable season – they were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarterfinals by Juventus and then they failed to defend their La Liga title, with Real Madrid waltzing to the coveted crown last weekend.
With Luis Enrique leaving his post as manager after this game, Barcelona will want to give their head coach the perfect farewell gift, by clinching a third consecutive Spanish cup crown.
"It is not the season we would have wanted but it hasn't been a disaster," Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said. "The match is very important; our objective is to win the Copa as it is another trophy and it will allow us to take part in the Spanish Super Cup."
Which will of course be against Real Madrid – now, what a start to the new season that would be.
However you look at it, there only looks like being one winner in this Spanish Cup final. Alaves have done splendidly well to get to the summit clash, but in Barcelona, they should meet their match.
Barca, though, will need to find the goals in the finale without one key component of the MSN trio. Luis Suarez will miss the game against Alaves after suffering a thigh injury in training, which is set to keep him out for a couple of weeks.
While Suarez will be a big miss, Barcelona still have Lionel Messi and Neymar to call upon, and these two are certainly capable of tearing apart the Alaves defence, although the Argentine might just be a little distracted after the Spanish Supreme Court upheld a 21-month sentence for tax fraud.
Having said that, though, what better way to send off Enrique than with a Messi and Neymar hat-trick.
Copa Del Rey final schedule: Barcelona vs Alaves.
Date: Saturday, May 27.
Time: 9.30pm CET, 8.30pm BST, 3.30pm ET, 1am (Sunday) IST.
Venue: Vicente Calderon, Madrid.
TV listings: India: No coverage. Spain: Telecinco Espana. UK: Sky Sports 2. USA: ESPN3. Australia: SBS One.
