Barcelona will look to extend their unbeaten run in La Liga to six games when they square up against Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Barcelona are in red-hot form ahead of the game against Celta Vigo. They have been scoring goals for fun and will look to pull another win when they host the Sky Blues, who have been struggling in the 2023/24 season. The visitors have only won one match so far in the league and are 16th in the points table.
The Catalan giants are second in the points table behind Real Madrid, who have a perfect record in the league. Barcelona have won four out of their five games in the league and have accumulated 13 points so far. They will look to add another three points when they face Celta Vigo.
Xavi’s team are heading into the fixture on the back of a 5-0 win over Royal Antwerp in the Champions League. Their last league outing was also a 5-0 win which came against Real Betis. Having scored ten goals without conceding even once in the last two outings, the visitors will be confident of getting the right result in their upcoming home game.
The visitors have only managed four points in their five league games with one win and a draw. They are 16th on the points table and will be eager to climb up by pulling off an upset over the defending champions.
Their only win in the league came against Almeria away from home as Williot Swedberg scored a late winner to make it 3-2 in their favour. But, they are heading into this fixture on the back of a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Mallorca and things don’t look good for them.
Meanwhile, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at this fixture and tries to predict the tactics that the two teams could deploy.
Team News & Tactics
Barcelona
The hosts will be without the service of Pedri. Meanwhile, Ronald Araujo is in the final phase of his recovery from a hamstring issue and could be a part of the squad for this fixture but he is unlikely to be given a start.
🌍 Where will you be watching the game from? pic.twitter.com/MN4CxsnbVE
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 22, 2023
Xavi will stick with the 4-3-3 formation, where Marc-Andre ter Stegen will be in goal. Summer signing Joao Cancelo will start as the right-back, while 19-year-old Alejandro Balde will continue on the left-back. Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen will be the centre-back pairing.
The defence has kept a clean sheet in their last two outings, and they will look to make it three in a row. Ilkay Gundogan, Frenkie de Jong and Gavi will be the three in the centre of the park. 16-year-old sensation Lamine Yamal will start out wide on the right while Joao Felix will continue on the left. And, Polish international Robert Lewandowski will continue as their number nine.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Cancelo, Kounde, Christensen, Balde; Gundogan, de Jong, Gavi; Yamal, Lewandowski, Felix
Celta Vigo
The visitors will be without the services of Franco Cervi for this fixture. Apart from him, they are expected to have a fully fit squad.
🗣️ ❝El equipo demuestra solidez y crea ocasiones. Nos estamos acercando a ese equilibrio entre defender bien y atacar bien❞.
Palabras de @rafabenitezweb na rolda de prensa previa ao #BarçaCelta de este sábado. #RCCelta | #LALIGAEASPORTS pic.twitter.com/x3Cg4Yeh0S
— RC Celta (@RCCelta) September 22, 2023
Rafael Benitez is expected to go ahead with the 3-4-3 formation where Ivan Villar will be in goal. The back three will consist of Unai Nunez, Carl Starfelt and Carlos Domínguez. The trio will have a tough task on their hands to stop a star-studded Barcelona attack that has scored 10 goals in their last two outings.
Oscar Mingueza and Mihailo Ristic will start out wide as the wing-backs. While the duo will look to join the attack, they will most likely have a lot of defending to do. Fran Beltran and Lucas de la Torre will be the two central midfielders. In attack, Tasos Douvikas and Jonathan Bamba will star on the flanks while veteran striker Iago Aspas be leading the lines.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Villar; Unai Nunez, Starfelt, Dominguez; Mingueza, Beltran, De la Torre, Ristic; Douvikas, Aspas, Bamba
Key Stats
- Barcelona have kept a clean sheet in their last two outings in all competitions and they have scored 10 goals in the process.
- Celta Vigo have been present in each of the last 12 La Liga campaigns. They have finished in the top half four times.
- The Catalan giants have won each of their last five games in all competitions.
- The visitors have only scored four goals this season and their main striker Iago Aspas is yet to find the back of the net.
- Xavi’s team are unbeaten in the league with four wins and a draw.
Player to Watch
Joao Felix
After a big-money move to Atletico Madrid back in 2019, Felix was expected to take La Liga by storm. But, things did not really work out for him at Wanda Metropolitano. But, his fortunes have finally started to imrpoveto click for him since he made the move to Barcelona this summer.
The 23-year-old Portuguese international has featured in three matches for the Catalan giants and he has managed to contribute towards four goals. He has found the back of the net thrice and has bagged an assist. He will look to carry look on in a similar fashion when he faces Celta Vigo.
Prediction
Barcelona 3-0 Celta Vigo
Given the kind of form Barcelona have been in of late, they are expected to dominate Celta Vigo in this fixture. The Catalan giants have not conceded in the last 180 minutes while they have found the back of the net on 10 occasions.
Meanwhile, the visitors have struggled in the 2023/24 season. They have only won one of their fixtures in the league so far and might have to face another defeat when they square up against Xavi’s team. The Hard Tackle predicts an easy 3-0 win for the home team.
