Xavi will start and play likely the entire match, while Thomas Vermaelen will finally make his club debut, however, Deportivo, after giving the blaugrana the guard of honour, will be going straight for the jugular as they a draw could save them but a win would secure survival after a tumultuous season.
Barca won their seventh league title in the past decade with a 1-0 victory at former champions Atletico Madrid last Sunday, talisman Lionel Messi fittingly scoring the winner with his 41st league goal of a typically prolific season.
The Camp Nou faithful will hail that triumph, but will also celebrate the career of a player who has been one of the driving forces behind Barcelona's success.
Midfielder Xavi announced on Thursday that he will join Qatari side Al Sadd at the end of the season, bringing an end to an association with the club that started at the age of 11.
Having broken into the first team in 1998, Xavi has gone on to rack up a club-record 764 appearances for Barca, during which time he has won eight Liga titles, two Copa del Reys and the Champions League three times.
The former Spain international can add to his trophy collection as Barca still have the Copa final against Athletic Bilbao and the Champions League showpiece versus Juventus to come.
MATCH FACTS
- Barcelona claimed their 23rd La Liga title last weekend.
- The Catalan giants are unbeaten in nine league meetings with Deportivo, winning seven and drawing two.
- The Galicians have only taken one point from their last eight league visits to the Camp Nou (D1 L7), failing to even score in their last four.
- Barcelona are unbeaten in 13 league games (W12 D1); their best run under Luis Enrique.
- Luis Enrique’s Barca side will finish the season with at least 93 points; that’s already six more than Pep Guardiola managed in his first campaign in charge.
- Deportivo are without a win in eight away league games (D4 L4), failing to score in half of them.
- Depor have drawn more games 0-0 than any other La Liga side this season (6).
- Victory in this game would guarantee safety for the Galician side.
