Three talking points ahead of Barcelona vs Celta Vigo | La Liga MD 32

One Clasico remains to be played this season, where Real Madrid can potentially take points off Barcelona directly, meaning even two other slip-ups will make the race extremely tight.

At this point, what Barcelona must do is not slip up in the games to come. A few more wins under the belt and a win in El Clasico will seal the title as matters stand.

Need for a mental reset

Barcelona need to start afresh. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

An elimination from the UEFA Champions League is heartbreaking in any situation, let alone one where the referees appear to be against the team from the very start.

Barcelona’s exit from the UCL last week, in that sense, was a very painful one, especially for the young dressing room, which was buzzing with excitement at the time of the draw.

After the heartbreak against Inter Milan last season, Barcelona’s party in the competition was cut short by two red cards in two legs against Atletico Madrid, and it is clear that the result is very harsh on Hansi Flick’s side.

What is crucial for the management at this stage, thus, is to ensure the dressing room does not go on a tilt and stays together through the complicated moment.

If the morale of the team stays high, they will undoubtedly celebrate the league title not too far down the line. If they fail to reset mentally and psychologically, however, they will pave the way for unnecessary twists.

The duty of the management and the veterans in the team, thus, will be to keep the morale of the young players high and ensure that they dish out strong performances starting tomorrow night.

The No. 9 dilemma

The No. 9 battle between Ferran Torres and Robert Lewandowski has been ongoing since the beginning of the season, with neither player particularly coming out on top over the other.

Ahead of the clash against Celta Vigo, however, the manager finds himself at a special crossroads and will find it hard to make his pick between the two. Both players have strong cases to start, after all.

For Ferran Torres, his case is built based on his recent form, which has much improved. The ‘Shark’ scored a brace against Espanyol and then racked up a goal and an assist in the second leg against Atletico Madrid, after all.

For Lewandowski, however, the case to start is linked more with his record against the opposition in question – Celta Vigo.

The Polish star, after all, has eight goals in seven games against the Galicians, including two braces and a hat-trick, the latter of which he scored in their most recent meeting.

It thus remains to be seen which of the two stars Flick opts to hand the start to tomorrow night.