Not since 2003 have Barcelona suffered three successive league defeats and the fatigued Blaugrana must now raise themselves for a trip to the Riazor on Wednesday night to get their La Liga title bid back on track.
Another slip could have fatal consequences for Luis Enrique’s side who traded at just 1.01 to retain their crown only a few weeks ago. Capital rivals Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid are ready to pounce on any midweek stumble.
The Catalans wasted a gallon of chances to see off Valencia at the Camp Nou on Sunday night but conceded for the 11th occasion in 14 rounds of league football with their defensive shortcomings coming under the microscope. The visitors have shutout just one of their past six hosts.
Deportivo are unlikely to rollover easily at the Riazor. The Galicians have W1-D5-L2 when hosting top-eight teams under Victor Sanchez, scoring in all eight encounters, only twice firing blanks in 16 home fixtures this term.
I expect Both Teams To Score to prove profitable once more and will happily get stuck into 1.73 quotes when Barcelona head north on Wednesday night.