Barcelona vs. Cordoba: Issues and Decisions That Will Shape La Liga Game
Barcelona host Cordoba at the Camp Nou for the first time since a Copa del Rey tie in January 2013 which the Catalans won 5-0.
How Luis Enrique and his team could do with a similar result and performance to sign off the year with.
The Catalans underperformed in their last La Liga game at Getafe, and not for the first time this season it must be said.
Supporters still need to be convinced as to the credentials of this side, so a big home win is essential.
Let's take a look at a few things that might shape the result of this one...
The Dreaded Early Kick-off
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For whatever reason, Barcelona have struggled in virtually all of their matches that have kicked off at 4 p.m. local (3 p.m. GMT) on a Saturday.
A home loss against Valencia and an away-day shambles against Real Valladolid were two avoidable results from last season.
We saw another lacklustre performance at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez against Getafe and speaking to reporters after the game, Andoni Zubizaretta blamed the loss on the early kick-off, per Sport.
The fixture computer has thrown up another early kick-off against Cordoba so Barca best be fully prepared for this one.
New Lease of Life at Cordoba
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Whether it's the new manager "bounce" or simply the fact that Cordoba earned a first top-flight victory in 42 years, the fact remains that Miroslav Djukic's team seem to have turned the corner.
After taking all three points at San Mames with a wonderful performance, Cordoba followed up with another clean sheet against Levante, with the point enough to take them off of the foot of the table; where they had sat since the start of the season.
The green and whites will face their stiffest test at Camp Nou, but as Celta Vigo and Getafe have already shown, as did little Eibar before they went behind in their match against Barca, the Catalans aren't at their best at this juncture.
A backs-against-the-wall performance could spring the biggest of surprises.
Barca Not Convincing Enough
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Although Barca haven't been convincing in some matches this season, there's certainly no need for knee-jerk reactions in Barcelona at present.
In the wake of another lacklustre performance, this time at Getafe, the tendency is to look to immediately apportion blame and act accordingly.
Given that it comes just a few days after one of the best performances of the season against Paris Saint-Germain, a little perspective and a more rigorous assessment of the team's shortcomings is needed.
After the Cordoba match, Luis Enrique has a couple of weeks in which to formulate his plans for the second half of the season and an assault on all fronts.
Now isn't the time to judge.
Must Win Game for Barca
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It's hard to believe that Barca's 16th game of the La Liga season against a team one point off the bottom of the table is a "must win."
But after the result against Getafe, the Catalans are now four points adrift of league leaders Real Madrid.
In order to retain any interest in the title race, Barca simply have to take all three points in this one.
If Cordoba come to play for a draw and Barca don't strike early, with the crowd on their backs, this could become a much more difficult assignment than it seems on paper.
Luis Suarez to Break La Liga Duck
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It's taken Luis Suarez a while to get used to a different way of playing from his Liverpool days.
Two goals in the Champions League but none in La Liga isn't probably the return he and the club expected, but the arrival of Cordoba presents a real opportunity to open the floodgates.
The woodwork, fabulous keeping and just plain old bad luck have stopped the Uruguayan from finding the net but five assists, per WhoScored.com, is evidence of his work for the team.
Now it's time to get selfish.
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