Barcelona can open a six-point gap over Real Madrid this afternoon if it beats Deportivo Abanca at Riazor, after Madrid’s 3-3 draw with Badalona Women changed the math at the top of Liga F. The league leaders started the round four points ahead, and a win at 18 h. would stretch that cushion to 6 points.
The timing is what makes the game matter now. Barcelona is coming straight off a 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League, and Romeu has already made clear that he is moving pieces around to keep legs fresh. “We have to turn the page from the chances we missed the other day. We were superior and I also highlight our ambition, because we always want to win,” he said, adding: “We have to move the lineup and keep the legs fresh. The match on Thursday caused a big physical effort.”
That rotation shows up in the squad sheet. Romeu left Irene Paredes and Caroline Graham Hansen out of the trip to Galicia, while Vicky López remains absent because her injury, already approaching two months, will keep her out for several more weeks. Kerolin, Kika Nazareth and Laia Aleixandri are also missing, even as the traveling group still includes Cata Coll, Gemma Font, Van Asten, Schertenleib, Aïcha, Martina Fernández, Torrejón, Carla Julià, Pina, Patri, Aitana, Serrajordi, Pajor, Esmee Brugts, Rosalía, Mayssa Baha, Laia Cabetas and Noa Jiménez.
Deportivo Abanca, meanwhile, is not arriving as an easy stopover. The team sits in mid-table, has conceded only 13 goals in 10 jornadas and lost 0-2 to Valencia in its last league outing. Apostol is suspended, adding to the absences of Inés Pereira, Merle Barth, Eva Alonso, Espe Pizarro and Cabral, while Ranera and Ainoa Gómez are loaned players from Barça. That leaves Barcelona with the better position and the deeper bench, but not the cleanest lineup.
So the opportunity is there, and it is immediate. If Barcelona takes care of business at Riazor, the standings move again and Real Madrid’s draw will have cost it more than two dropped points. If it does not, the chance to widen the gap is gone for now, and the title race stays tighter than Barça expected when the round began.
