Barcelona vs Celta, La Liga: Preview

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Following a painful Champions League elimination against Atlético Madrid, Barcelona have had a full week to rest, recover, train and reset as they turn their focus back to La Liga and a home game against Celta Vigo on Wednesday night at the Greatest Stadium on Earth.

The European exit in Madrid was certainly disappointing and deflating, but any notion that Barça’s season “is over” by any means is just false. Winning back-to-back La Liga titles would be a massive achievement, one that Barça still haven’t accomplished this decade and would serve as further proof that Hansi Flick is the right man for the job as the Catalans try to take the next step in continental play.

Barça are four wins away from clinching the title, and the dream scenario of winning the league by defeating Real Madrid in El Clásico in three weeks is becoming more and more real. Madrid won on Tuesday against Alavés, which means the Blaugrana must pick up all three points to restore their nine-point lead at the top and continue on the march to the championship — which could very well come at home against their biggest rivals.

The task on Wednesday is not easy, however. Celta are one of the very few teams in La Liga who are not afraid of facing Barça in Catalonia, and are willing to play aggressive, attacking football at the Catalans’ home. Celta are on a terrible run of results and have conceded 15 goals in their last five games, but their attack is dynamic and tough to stop, so we should be prepared for a high-scoring affair at Camp Nou.

Celta faced their own painful European exit last week at the hands of Freiburg in the Europa League quarter-finals, and the Sky Blues are now fully focused on finishing ahead of Real Betis in fifth to play in next season’s Europa League. They have several former Barça players and are really well coached by Claudio Giráldez, and Barça killer Iago Aspas is always a giant threat.

Because of the attacking nature of both teams and the desperation to win on both sides, this should be a lot of fun. Celta will cause trouble with their quick passing and dangerous wing play, and Borja Iglesias has proven to be a brutal matchup for the Barça defense with his size and power. Barça will be favorites and Celta’s defense is just too leaky right now, but they still deserve a ton of respect.

This isn’t a mediocre mid-table team or a relegation candidate; this is legitimately one of the best attacking sides in the league and they are more than capable of causing an upset at Camp Nou. It’s up to Barça to be ready for the fight.

Let’s dance.

POSSIBLE LINEUPS

Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Joan; Kounde, Cubarsí, Martín, Cancelo; Gavi, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Fermín; Ferran

Celta (3-4-1-2): Radu; Rodríguez, Aidoo, Alonso; Carreira, Moriba, Vecino, Mingueza; López; Jutglà, Iglesias

PREDICTION

This will be high-scoring and full of chances, but Barça are well-rested and hungry to leave the European disappointment behind: 4-2 to the home team.