Barcelona have lost most of their advantage at the top of the league in a short period of time. In the last 2 tough away games they have only taken 1 point and allowed Real Madrid to close in. Barcelona are looking to get back on track in the league. That's why Las Palmas will be a crucial match for Barcelona. We can see a very eager and ambitious Barcelona. Yamal and De Jong are available for this game. Las Palmas showed their worst defensive performance of the season against Mallorca. I think a team with such a poor defense, both in possession and in transition, will have their work cut out for them against a more motivated and focused Barcelona. I think Barcelona will win this game without any difficulty.
But it doesn't mean much. I agree that they should have been able to more optimally preserve some of that advantage, but they are not unbeatable as could be seen in the last few games. But they are still on top of things when you see their team and when Yamal comes backs. Real Madrid has more problems than them and Real Madrid will probably have to go through playoff games, which in turn means even more games for a team that has less players than most other teams because of all those injuries. Barcelona will go through and instead be able to give their players more rest. This could become meaningful later down the road this season.