Deja vu a strong possibility as Barcelona prepare to bounce back against Celta Vigo

La Liga promises to throw up more spectacular action this weekend, and one of the matches that will be expressly focused on takes place at Balaidos, where Celta Vigo host an ailing Barcelona side.

While a Man City v Chelsea Live Stream will be popular across the world at 6.30pm CET on Saturday evening, taking place at the same time in Vigo will be Barcelona’s match against Celta, which presents a good opportunity for Xavi Hernandez’s side to get back on the horse following a poor result against Granada last weekend.

A 3-3 draw meant that the Catalans are now 10 points behind bitter rivals Real Madrid in the La Liga title race. It’s highly improbable that they will be able to make this up, although all Barcelona can do is to continue picking up victories – something they had been doing until they faced Granada.

The problem for Barcelona is that it could be very difficult to pick up three points at Balaidos. They may be coming up against a Celta team that is on poor form, having lost four of their last five matches across all competitions, but with the likes of Iago Aspas and Jorgen Strand Larsen, Rafa Benitez’s side can cause all sorts of problems to the Blaugrana’s defence, which has shipped 20 goals in their last eight matches.

Barcelona have failed to win their last two visits to Vigo, draw 3-3 in November 2021 before losing 2-1 in the final game of last season. On that occasion, Gabri Veiga scored twice, and although he won’t be involved this weekend as he joined Al Ahli last summer, there are a few Celta players capable of stepping into that role, hence creating the possible situation of déjà vu.

However, while Celta can take advantage of Barcelona’s defensive woes, the same situation can also occur at the other end of the pitch. Robert Lewandowski has hit form in 2024, while Lamine Yamal has been in spectacular form over the last few weeks. If he continues to play at that level on Saturday, the Catalans have a great chance of winning, especially as Vitor Roque will also be back from suspension.

It promises to be a very interesting affair in Vigo on Saturday evening. If Barcelona want to keep their very slim chances of retaining the La Liga title alive, they need to put together a string of consecutive wins, and that needs to start now. However, Celta certainly won’t make it easy for that to happen.