Barcelona are back in action on Saturday evening in La Liga when they travel west to take on struggling Celta Vigo.
Xavi’s side endured yet another frustrating result last time out, only managing a 3-3 draw with bottom-three side Granada. With cup exits and the announced departure of their manager at the end of the campaign, the season has gradually grown more disappointing for Barca. With Napoli to come in the Champions League, it could get worse still.
Celta Vigo will be very disappointed with how their season has gone, given they have semi-regularly finished in European spots qualification spots in recent years. They are only three points above the drop zone and have everything to play for when Barca arrive in town.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Celta Vigo vs Barcelona.
Celta Vigo vs Barcelona H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current Form (all competitions)
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Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
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United Kingdom |
Viaplay Sports 2, LaLigaTV, Viaplay UK |
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United States |
ESPN+, ESPN Deportes |
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Canada |
TSN+ |
Something particularly damning about Celta Vigo’s poor form is they haven’t struggled too much with injuries. That said, manager Rafa Benitez will be without Joseph Aidoo for the rest of the season while Carlos Dotor is a doubt with a muscle injury.
Oscar Mingueza is likely to feature against his old club, while the experienced Iago Aspas could be drafted back into the starting lineup.
Celta Vigo predicted lineup vs Barcelona (3-4-3): Guaita; Tapia, Nunez, Dominguez; Manquillo, Aspas, Beltran, Ristic; Mingueza, Strand Larsen, De La Torre.
Barca can call upon Vitor Roque again after he served a suspension against Granada, but plenty of important players remain out injured.
Gavi is sidelined until the end of the season, while there are problems on the left flank with Alejandro Balde, Marcos Alonso and Sergi Roberto all not fit. Ferran Torres and Joao Felix are also missing, but Raphinha could be set for a start having returned from injury.
Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen also came back into the starting XI against Granada after missing 17 fixtures and will continue between the sticks.
Barcelona predicted lineup vs Celta Vigo (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Martinez, Cancelo; De Jong, Gundogan, Pedri; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha.
Barca are a tough team to predict these days. The 2023/24 season started with optimism as they set out to defend their La Liga title and challenge in the Champions League, but poor results of late mean their campaign has drastically unravelled.
La Blaugrana certainly should have been beaten Granada at home but failed to get the job done. This is another game against a team struggling at the bottom of the table they really have to be winning.
Barca should have learned something from that match and will have more options available from the bench this time, so Xavi’s side ought to get this one over the line.
Prediction: Celta Vigo 1-2 Barcelona
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