Barcelona aim to go into the November international break on a high, looking to capture consecutive La Liga wins for the first time in over a month when they visit Celta Vigo on Sunday night.
A disastrous defensive performance saw Barcelona settle for a 3–3 draw against Club Brugge in the Champions League last time out. The performance continued a worrying defensive trend for the Catalans, one that’s resulted in a three-game winless streak away from home.
Hansi Flick’s side desperately need to end that negative run away from home, or Real Madrid could extend their lead atop the La Liga standings.
Celta Vigo will be no easy opponent. After a slow start to the campaign, Claudio Giráldez’s side are unbeaten since late September and have won five straight games across all competitions.
The Catalans have won just twice in their last 10 trips to Celta in La Liga. Still, anything less than a win on Sunday will be considered a failure.
Here is Sports Illustrated’s guide to the game.
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Celta Vigo vs. Barcelona Head-to-Head Record (Last Five Games)
Current Form (All Competitions)
Celta Vigo
Barcelona
Dinamo Zagreb 0–3 Celta Vigo – 6/11/25
Club Brugge 3–3 Barcelona – 5/11/25
Levante 1–2 Celta Vigo – 2/11/25
Barcelona 3–1 Elche – 2/11/25
Puerto de Vega 0–2 Celta Vigo – 30/10/25
Real Madrid 2–1 Barcelona – 26/10/25
Osasuna 2–3 Celta Vigo – 26/10/25
Barcelona 6–1 Olympiacos – 21/10/25
Celta Vigo 2–1 Nice – 23/10/25
Barcelona 2–1 Girona – 18/10/25
Country
TV/Live Stream
United States
ESPN Select, ESPN App, ESPN Deportes, fuboTV
United Kingdom
Premier Sports 2, Premier Sports Player, Amazon Prime Video
Canada
TSN+, Amazon Prime Video
Mexico
Sky Sports, Sky+
Marcos Alonso should get the nod against his former club. / Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey/Getty Images
Celta have won five on the bounce in all competitions and will look to continue the positive momentum against the La Liga champions.
An injury to starting goalkeeper Ionuț Andrei Radu will see Iván Villar start between the sticks. Hugo Álvarez and Javi Rueda are among other notable player that will be unavailable through injury.
Giráldez will likely trot-out three former Barcelona players, with Marcos Alonso, Oscar Mingueza and Ilaix Moriba all expected to start against their former club.
Up front, Bryan Zaragoza, Borja Iglesias and Ferrán Jutglà will lead the line.
Celta will be motivated to upset the league champions. / FotMob
Celta Vigo predicted lineup vs. Barcelona (3-4-3): Villar; Rodríguez, Starfelt, Alonso; Mingueza, Beltrán, Moriba, Carreira; Jutglà, Iglesias, Zaragoza
Flick could deploy Dani Olmo alongside Frenkie de Jong in Barcelona’s midfield. / Pedro Salado/Getty Images
Barcelona’s injury woes continue, with Eric García suffering a nasal fracture in their Champions League clash against Club Brugge, jeopardizing his involvement against Celta.
Pau Cubarsí could return to the lineup after getting benched in Barcelona’s two most recent games. The same can’t be said about goalkeeper Joan García, who’s back in training with the team but it’s still too soon for him to be involved in a match.
Having fully recovered from injury, Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski could feature from the start for the first time in over a month.
Barcelona can’t afford to drop points against Celta. / FotMob
Barcelona predicted lineup vs. Celta Vigo (4-2-3-1): Szczęsny; Koundé, Araújo, Cubarsí, Balde; De Jong, Olmo; Yamal, López, Rashford; Lewandowski.
Barcelona’s defensive issues have been the story of the team over the past month and against Celta, their leaky backline could suffer again.
The hosts will likely follow the blueprint Brugge employed to put three past Szczęsny on Wednesday, forcing Barcelona to outscore them if they’re to escape Balaídos with a positive result.
But Barcelona’s attack looked fluid last time out on the back of Lamine Yamal’s best performance of the season. The teenager will command a strong attacking effort to help overcome his side’s defensive issues.
Yamal and López could very well continue their fine form and Lewandowski may even find the back of the net as Barcelona attempt to emerge victorious.
Prediction: Celta Vigo 2–3 Barcelona
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