Barcelona coach Xavi termed his side’s 1-0 defeat against Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) as a refereeing “injustice” but Barça must now quickly regroup and prepare for a crucial week ahead which sees a reverse UCL fixture against Inter and concludes with an El Clásico.
A potential demotion to the UEFA Europa League for the second season running could be financially crippling for Barça, but the immediate focus lies with the visit of Celta Vigo and extending their six-game La Liga (LL) winning streak that sees them looking down on the rest after seven rounds (W6, D1).
Defensive solidity has been crucial to Barcelona’s upturn in form and the Catalans now stand a chance to land six consecutive LL clean sheets for the first time since May 2015. An increasing injury list threatens to wreak havoc with that run, while just one clean sheet across seven LL H2Hs indicates Celta Vigo could prove to be a tricky opponent.
With Celta scoring in all but one of their last seven league games (W3, D1, L3), Barça’s quest for that historic clean sheet seemingly faces another difficult hurdle.
The visitors halted a two-game losing streak with a 1-0 victory against Real Betis in the last round, though Celta manager Eduardo Coudet was missing due to personal reasons. While it is unclear if Coudet will return for this match, Celta will irrespectively be plotting to upset the odds here and boost their chances of a first top-six finish since 2015/16.
That’s easier said than done as Celta have lost 75% of their 56 LL away H2Hs, making Spotify Camp Nou one of their least favoured destinations. Celta’s recent travel record isn’t any favourable either, having lost their last two away games by a three-goal margin after trailing at half-time.
Key battle: Ousmane Dembélé has seen his last three league goal involvements (G1, A2) against Celta come at home. He may have his work cut out to battle past Joseph Aidoo, with the defender in line for his 100th competitive Celta appearance but he is yet to win a league game against Barcelona (D2, L3).
Hot stat: Barcelona have scored first in the last six LL H2Hs and are the only side yet to concede first in this league campaign.
WILL NOT PLAY
- Araujo R.(Muscle Injury)
- Bellerin H.(Foot Injury)
- Christensen A.(Ankle Injury)
- Depay M.(Muscle Injury)
- Kessie F.(Thigh Injury)
- Kounde J.(Muscle Injury)
TV / LIVE STREAMING
TV CHANNEL
Arena Sport (Cro), Arena Sport (Ser), Arena Sport (Svn), beIN Sports (Fra), CBC Sport (Az), CMore (Fin), CMore MAX (Fin), DAZN.COM, DAZN Deutsch, DAZN Japan, Digi Sport 3 (Rom), Eleven Sports 1 (Pol), Eleven Sports (Bel), Eleven Sports (Por), Max Sport (Bul), Nova Sport 4 (Cze), Nova Sports (Hel), Optus Sport (Aus), Orange Sport (Rom), Premier Sports (UK), Prima Sport 2 (Rom), Setanta Sports Eurasia, Spiler2 TV, S Sport, SuperSport, TV2 Sport X (Den), Veikkaus TV, Ziggo Kanaal 14, Ziggo Sport Select
MATCH INFORMATION
REFEREE:Munuera Montero J. (Esp)
VENUE:Camp Nou (Barcelona)
