Xavi prepares reward for Barcelona if they beat Sevilla

Xavi has thrown down a challenge to his Barcelona squad and prepared a reward should they beat Sevilla on Sunday.

Barça have improved since Xavi's appointment as manager and lead La Liga's title race by five points ahead of second place Real Madrid.

The two giants both play on Sunday and Real can reduce the deficit to two points before Barça play if they beat Mallorca.

Xavi has been renowned for setting his squad challenges throughout his tenure to motivate his players and they have often been related to potential time off and holidays, although on occasion the manager has taken his squad out for lunch or dinner.

The challenge this week is to beat Sevilla. If successful, AS say the Barça squad will be given days off on Tuesday and Wednesday. If they fail, it'll be just one day off.

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La Blaugrana are without just Ousmane Dembele, who is recovering from a muscle problem, with Sunday's clash with Sevilla. The visitors are down in 13th but have won three of the last four league games.

The incentives are clearly working for Barça. They have won 16 of their 19 La Liga games this season and looked well placed to win their first league title since 2018/19. They also face a Europa League knockout playoff tie against Manchester United, having been eliminated