Barcelona will have to avoid a repeat of their Galician misery if they are to regain their La Liga crown from fierce rivals Real Madrid.
Last season Luis Enrique’s Barca came up short in their title pursuit and a pivotal reason was losing both trips to the North Western region of Spain, against Celta Vigo and Deportivo La Coruna.
The Blaugrana shipped four for the second consecutive season at Celta in another nightmare trip to the Balaidos, while a shock 2-1 loss at lowly Depor came days after their exhilarating Champions League comeback against Paris Saint-Germain.
This season they will face successive away trips to the region in late April, with a visit to Celta in matchday 33 followed by a trip to Pepe Mel’s men a fortnight later.
The Vigo-based side’s matches against Barca will have even more significance this season with Os Celeste now managed by Juan Carlos Unzue – Enrique’s former Barca number two and a contender to replace him.
Hosting Real Madrid late in the season while travelling to Levante and hosting Real Sociedad will likely be viewed as favourable by Barca as long as they know the title is still in their hands going into the final run of games.
