SINGAPORE - The return of Luis Suarez and the reinvigoration of Lionel Messi will give Barcelona the edge in the title race against Real Madrid when La Liga resumes on June 11.
The defending champions have a two-point lead on their El Clasico rivals with 11 games to go, and former Barca winger Luis Garcia believes the reunion of their top strikers - who have already totalled 30 league goals this term - will fire them to a seventh league title in 10 years.
The 41-year-old told The Straits Times in an online interview on Thursday (June 4): "Lionel Messi looks fantastic in the past couple of weeks with his intensity in training, and they will also (have) Luis Suarez (back from a knee injury), so they have a full and amazing squad to choose from.
"These are amazing players and why I think Barcelona will win La Liga."
Former Real Madrid midfielder Steve McManaman, however, thinks the league trophy is heading the other way to the Santiago Bernabeu, but he agrees that the bigger teams benefit more from the three-month lay-off due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Real will welcome back Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio from injury even though the duo have combined for just 10 games and a single goal between them.
In a global video conference call organised by La Liga on Wednesday, the 48-year-old Englishman said: "The schedule is tight with just five to six weeks and so the teams with quality players, big squads and better player back-ups, will do better. Barcelona and Real Madrid have these and it is a very close race between the two at the top."
Just as it was for the German Bundesliga that resumed last month, the Spanish top flight will be played behind closed doors with strict health and safety protocol.
In the conference call, former Villarreal and Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan encouraged the players to embrace the new normal and "respect the protocol" that outlaws handshakes and hugging.
Garcia, meanwhile, believes the changes have levelled the playing field somewhat as teams seem to lose home ground advantage playing in front of empty stands. Since the Bundesliga resumed, only eight of 37 games have been won by home teams, representing a dip of 50 per cent compared to the last 37 matches before the break.
He said: "Yes, the same could happen in La Liga, because the atmosphere the fans bring is very special. To play with a crowd cheering or booing you is special. We always like to go to places like Valencia and Sevilla, where there are special crowds.
"It's going to tough for the players to adapt to the situation but that's the way it is. You see Real Madrid may play in a smaller stadium (the 6,000-seat Alfredo di Stefano Stadium based at their training ground) so they are more familiar with that kind of smaller training environment, but the players must be focused on winning the three points."
He remains confident that the players will delight a global audience with their quality when La Liga finally kicks off again, but feels it is inevitable that their fitness will not be at the same level as before.
The Spaniard, who led the Liverpool Reds to victory at the Battle of the Reds in Singapore's National Stadium in November, told ST: "I still have my touch, trust me. But when you stop playing for two weeks, you lose almost all your fitness, so imagine two months without playing.
"Even though the guys have been working very hard at home, it is totally different training for the big pitch... Towards the end of the game there may be more mistakes, but that miscontrol or bad pass will be because they are tired."
He anticipates that players will take up to three games to get their rhythm, speed and stamina back for the full 90 minutes.
"I'm really looking forward to watching La Liga again because there will be so many exciting battles with the title race, relegation battle and fight for Champions League qualification," he added.
