Celta Vigo vs Barcelona

The stakes are high for Celta Vigo and Barcelona as the two out-of-form La Liga sides square off the Estadio de Balaidos.

Rafael Benitez’s managerial future in Vigo remains in limbo after a 3-2 defeat at Getafe last weekend left Celta flirting with the bottom three. Sat only three points clear of 18th-placed Cadiz, ‘Los Celticos’ come into proceedings amid a rough patch, having lost three of their last four top-flight games (W1), including back-to-back 1-0 home defeats to Real Sociedad and Girona. Balaidos has not been Celta’s safe haven by any stretch of the imagination, with only two teams picking up fewer home points than the Vigo outfit’s ten (W2, D4, L6), fueling the skepticism among the home faithful. Moreover, alongside Cadiz (8), they’re the only remaining club in La Liga to have scored less than ten home league goals this term (9). With that in mind, it’s barely surprising they’ve bagged 2+ goals just twice in 12 La Liga home matches.

As if Barcelona’s stuttering La Liga title defense wasn’t troubling enough, Xavi Hernandez’s side barely snatched away a point in a goal-glutted 3-3 home draw against second-from-bottom Granada last weekend, throwing their hopes of ascending the throne into further doubt. Now stranded a whopping ten points below pacesetters Real Madrid, the ‘Blaugrana’ might consider this trip a welcome distraction, considering they’re the only La Liga side yet to lose a league match on the road this season (W6, D5). Since this is also a dress rehearsal for their upcoming Champions League tie against Napoli, extending a three-match winning away league run is imperative to regain some confidence. However, the Catalan heavyweights have failed to beat Celta in their last two top-flight away H2Hs (D1, L1), conceding multiple goals on both occasions.