This all is not for just some reason, it's all because recently Barcelona is doing very good in last five matches they have 11 points and Atletico Madrid is having only 7 points with have two defeats against Sevilla and Granada. Barcelona having some problems, but recently they are improving very rapidly and have many matches without any defeat, so they can beat Atletico Madrid and can grab their four spot which is very important for them.
After this they can think about some more good results and can bring down Betis because they are also having some struggling time and can through few points which are very valuable for Barcelona and their cause. This is massive achievement from them as they are facing some worst time on and off the field with knocked out from Champions League as well.
If you take the last five matches for Barcelona, you can see that they have only two wins + two losses and one draw (each loss resulted in relegation from the respective cup)
https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/65/Fixtures/Spain-BarcelonaAtlético have an absolutely identical picture:
https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/63/Fixtures/Spain-Atletico-MadridBut given what I wrote above (Atletico in a temporary crisis, and Barcelona in a systemic one), I think that Atlético will easily win this match.
when I think Barcelona might be the winners, I feel like Atletico Madrid has a better chance and vice versa.
But I want to think of it in simple terms. If Barcelona wins they will be in the top four and if Atletico Madrid wins they will be able to hold their 4th position.
So, for Barcelona, it's a really important game. And also for Xavi as well. Because if Barcelona loses this they are in big trouble.
Replacing koeman for Xavi is the best decision Barcelona management made and so far there have been lots of improvement. Finishing in the third or fourth place will require lots of commitment and it would mean contending with Athletico Maldrid, Sevilla and Real bettis but Barcelona can do better with xavi leadership as for good performance I will say there have been good ones but all Barcelona needs at the time is more good finishers who would send their team work to the back of their opponents net
I also think that this was the right call for Barcelona. Because nearly everyone was criticizing his game plan before. Xavi is a much better choice for Barcelona as he is one of their legends. Xavi must be knowing what is good for this team. I know that not all of the team legends manage their teams very well. For example, Solskjaer was too bad this season and he got sacked finally. But I hope that Xavi's end won't be the same and he will build a strong team considering the future.
Xavi, in my opinion, is one of the best things that has happened to Barcelona in recent times, and I give Xavi a lot of credit for this.
Not every manager wants to start their career with a team which is drowning, but he did.
Now Barcelona has to realize that their glory days are behind them, at least for some time. They have to grind and get better. also, they have to trust Xavi. He took Barcelona out of the hole that they were in and made them compete at a higher level again. I'm sure he can do great things with the team in the future too.
