Barcelona forward Lionel Messi. (Photo : Getty Images)
Reeling club Deportivo de La Coruna (7-9-17, 38 points) will look to pull off another stunning upset against the suddenly struggling defending champions FC Barcelona (24-5-4, 76 points) in a 2015-2016 La Liga season match on Wednesday, April 20th at the Estadio Municipal de Riazor.
Deportivo has dropped to the 13th spot of the current league table after being winless in five of their last six games. They are a far 11 points away from the final Europa League berth presently held by Sevilla and are nine points above the bottom three relegation zone held by Sporting Gijon, Levante, and Getafe with five games remaining in their current campaign.
The Branquiazuis is coming off a 1-1 draw with the seventh-placed Sevillistas last Sunday on the road at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, as per ESPN.
Midfielder Vicente Iborra netted the opening goal of the contest at the 21st minute to give the early lead to Los Rojiblancos. The hosts were able to hold on to the said lead for much of the game, but it was eventually leveled out by Deportivo striker Oriol Riera nine minutes before the full time whistle.
Meanwhile, the defending domestic top flight champions are in a rut right now, being winless in their last four matches which is quite shocking for a quality team like Barça. They are on a three-game losing skid, allowing second-placed Atletico Madrid to get them tied on points at the top of the standings.
Barça are still the league leaders by virtue of their superior goal differential, but their title defense is significantly compromised and may eventually be a disaster if they fail to win their remaining five games in the season.
The Blaugrana dropped a disappointing 1-2 game to streaking squad Valencia at the Camp Nou last Sunday, as reported by SkySports.
An unfortunate own goal from midfielder Ivan Rakitic opened the scoring of the match for Los Che at the 26th minute. They doubled their lead during the first half injury time with a brilliant move by forward Santi Mina in front of Claudio Bravo's net.
Lionel Messi managed to score a goal at the 63rd which looked like the start of a comeback for Luis Enrique's side, but it was all Barça could muster as they lost another game at home this season.
The predicted result is a 2-0 bounce back victory for Barcelona.
Deportivo La Coruna starting lineup (5-3-2 formation): Muniz; Juanfran, Lopo, Sidnei, Navarro, Luisinho; Fajr, Borges, Mosquera; Lucas, Alberto
Barcelona starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Bravo; Roberto, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Suárez, Neymar
