Barcelona will be bidding to return to winning ways in Spain's top flight when they head to the Estadio Municipal de Balaidos on Saturday evening to tackle struggling Celta Vigo.
The visitors will enter the match off the back of a 3-3 draw with relegation-threatened Granada, while Celta suffered a 3-2 defeat to Getafe in their last La Liga clash.
Match preview
Celta have not operated outside of Spain's top flight since the 2011-12 campaign, so it would be a surprise to see them relegated this season, especially as they have posted comfortable finishes of eighth, 11th and 13th in their last three campaigns at this level of football.
The Sky Blues have struggled throughout the season, though, boasting a record of four wins, eight draws and 12 defeats from 24 matches, which has seen them collect just 20 points.
Rafael Benitez's side are 17th in the table, three points ahead of 18th-placed Cadiz, and the struggles of the teams below them have kept them out of the relegation zone despite their problems.
Celta have been beaten in three of their last four games in Spain's top flight, including a 3-2 loss at Getafe last weekend, but they did manage to record a 3-0 victory away to Osasuna at the start of the month.
The Vigo outfit suffered a 3-2 defeat to Barcelona in the reverse match earlier this season, but they beat the Catalan giants 2-1 in the corresponding fixture at the end of the 2022-23 La Liga campaign.
Barcelona, meanwhile, played out a pulsating 3-3 draw with 19th-placed Granada last weekend; the strugglers actually led 3-2 in the 66th minute of the match, but Lamine Yamal's second goal in the 80th minute ensured that Xavi's side would secure a share of the spoils.
The Catalan outfit remain third in the table, three points ahead of fourth-placed Atletico Madrid, but they are some 10 points behind the leaders Real Madrid, which is a lot of ground to make up at this stage of the season.
Barcelona have picked up seven points from their three league matches since Xavi announced that he would be standing down as head coach at the end of the campaign.
The La Liga title might be beyond them this season, but the Catalan outfit remain active in the Champions League, preparing to head to Italy next week for the first leg of their last-16 clash with Napoli.
Barcelona have had another turbulent campaign, but they are actually unbeaten away from home in La Liga this season, drawing six and drawing five of their 11 matches, with their three league defeats this term coming at their temporary home of Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
Team News
Celta remain without the services of Joseph Aidoo due to a long-term knee injury, while Carlos Dotor is a doubt with a muscular problem, but the Sky Blues are otherwise in good shape for this match.
Head coach Benitez is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack from the side that lost at Getafe, as the home side's winner came in the 89th minute.
Tadeo Allende, who arrived at the club in the final stages of the January transfer market, scored off the bench against Getafe, and the 24-year-old could now be in line for his first start for the club, potentially replacing ex-Barcelona defender Oscar Mingueza, but it might otherwise be the same team that started last time out.
As for Barcelona, Ferran Torres, Joao Felix, Sergi Roberto, Alejandro Balde, Marcos Alonso and Gavi will again miss out through injury, while Oriol Romeu remains a doubt due to a knee complaint.
Head coach Xavi is expected to make two changes to the side that started against Granada, with Ronald Araujo set to return to the defence, while fit-again Raphinha could come into the XI, having made his comeback from a muscular issue off the bench last time out.
Vitor Roque is also available again following a suspension, but he is expected to start on the bench, with Yamal's brace against Granada likely to equal yet another start for the 16-year-old.
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Guaita; Tapia, U Nunez, Dominguez; Manquillo, Jailson, Beltran, Ristic; Allende, Larsen, De la Torre
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, I Martinez, Cancelo; F de Jong, Gundogan, Pedri; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha
We say: Celta Vigo 1-2 Barcelona
Barcelona have not lost on their travels in the league this season, boasting the third-best record in La Liga, while Celta have the third-worst record in front of their own fans. Celta recorded a 2-1 win over Barcelona in the corresponding game last season, but we can see Xavi's side securing all three points here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
