Barcelona will be aiming to open up a seven-point lead at the top of the La Liga table when they welcome European-chasing Celta Vigo to Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Saturday afternoon.
Hansi Flick's side sit four points clear of second-placed Real Madrid at the summit heading into the next gameweek, while Celta are seventh, five points behind sixth-placed Real Betis in the battle for Europe.
Match preview
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Barcelona have a record of 22 wins, four draws and five defeats from their 31 league matches this season, with a total of 70 points leaving them at the top of the La Liga table, four points clear of second-placed Real Madrid on the same number of games.
The Catalan outfit have an incredible 84 goals in their 31 league fixtures this term, and with Real Madrid not in action until Sunday, a victory over Celta in this contest would see them open up a seven-point lead at the summit.
Flick's team recorded a 1-0 victory over Leganes in Spain's top flight last weekend, but they will enter this match off the back of a defeat, suffering a 3-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
That said, Barcelona still managed to advance 5-3 on aggregate, and the Catalan team are now preparing to tackle Inter Milan in the semi-finals, with the first leg of their last-four contest set to take place on April 30.
Barcelona are on for a treble in the latter stages of the season, also facing Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final on April 26, so it is a huge period of the campaign for Flick's team, who will take on Celta and Mallorca in their next two league fixtures.
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Celta held Barcelona to a 2-2 draw in the reverse match between the two sides earlier this season, but it was 3-2 to La Blaugrana when the pair locked horns for the corresponding game during the 2023-24 campaign.
The Sky Blues have a relatively recent away success over Barcelona to their name, triumphing 2-1 in May 2021, and Claudio Giraldez's side have been in excellent form of late, which has moved them into European contention.
Celta will enter the match off the back of a 2-0 home defeat to Espanyol, but they were unbeaten in eight games before that, recording five wins in the process, and the team are currently seventh in the table.
The Vigo outfit are only five points behind sixth-placed Real Betis in the battle for a European spot, and they have been a good watch this term, scoring 44 times but also conceding 45, which is the most in the top 12.
Celta finished 13th in Spain's top flight last season, while they have not been in the top six since 2016, so there is plenty on the line for the club in the final stages of the 2024-25 campaign.
Team News
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Barcelona will once again be without the services of Alejandro Balde, Marc Casado, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Marc Bernal through injury, but the Catalan outfit did not suffer any fresh issues against Dortmund.
Head coach Flick is expected to make changes to the side that started against BVB, with Pedri and Inigo Martinez in line to be introduced, while Ferran Torres and Dani Olmo will also be in contention.
Gerard Martin is the player benefiting from Balde's absence, with the Spaniard set to continue at left-back, while Ronald Araujo and Gavi are likely to be the two to drop out following the Champions League game in Germany.
As for Celta, Hugo Alvarez and Carl Starfelt will miss the match through injury, with the latter picking up an issue during the team's home defeat to Espanyol last time out.
Carlos Dominguez is expected to be the player to benefit from Starfelt's issue, with the Spaniard in line to feature in the middle of the defence, while there could also be changes in midfield.
Fer Lopez and Ilaix Moriba both featured off the bench against Espanyol last time out, and there could now be spots in the XI for the duo, but Pablo Duran should continue through the middle for the Vigo outfit.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsi, I Martinez, Martin; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; Lewandowski
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Guaita; J Rodriguez, C Dominguez, Alonso, Mingueza; Carreira, F Lopez, Beltran, Moriba, Gonzalez; Duran
We say: Barcelona 2-1 Celta Vigo
This has the potential to be a very tricky match for Barcelona, especially off the back of a difficult match in Germany; Celta's recent form has been excellent, but we are expecting the Catalan team to navigate their way to a huge three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
