Celta Vigo vs. Barcelona: Team News, Predicted Line-Ups, Live Stream and TV Info
Barcelona head to Celta Vigo hoping to avenge a surprise home defeat and keep themselves four points clear of Real Madrid in the process.
Joaquin Larrivey was the hero for the Galicians earlier in the season, scoring the only goal at Camp Nou to see Celta win there for the first time in 37 years.
It was a result to send shock waves throughout La Liga, especially given it was Celta's first win over Barca— home or away—in 11 years, per Soccer Punter.
While there have been one or two other minor blips since, the Catalans have been the in-form team in the division.
Luis Enrique heads back to Balaidos and the team where he cut his La Liga teeth in confident mood.
With Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez all firing now, Eduardo Berizzo's side are in for a much more uncomfortable night than the one they had at the back end of last year.
Date: Sunday, April 5
Time: 8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET
Venue: Balaidos, Vigo, Spain
TV Info: Sky Sports 5 (UK only) / beIN Sports 2 (USA only)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK only) / beIN Sports Connect (USA only)
Form Lines
| Celta Vigo | Barcelona |
| W 1-0 vs. Levante | W 2-1 vs Real Madrid |
| L 1-2 vs. Athletic Club | W 1-0 vs Manchester City |
| L 1-4 vs. Villarreal | W 2-0 vs Eibar |
| D 1-1 vs. Elche | W 6-1 vs Rayo Vallecano |
| W 2-0 vs. Deportivo la Coruna | W 3-1 vs Villarreal |
| W 2-0 vs. Atletico Madrid | W 3-1 vs. Granada |
Credit: WhoScored.com
Predicted Formations
Lionel Messi has travelled for this fixture, per Sport, despite being sidelined for Argentina for the last fortnight.
A report by Sky Sports (via the Fox Sports website) rate Messi's chances of making the game as "doubtful," and perhaps a late fitness test would be beneficial to determine whether Messi plays or not. Twitter account We Love Barca shared a photo of Messi's injury:
Given the vast number of fixtures that the Catalans have upcoming in April, arguably missing a match now may be of benefit later in the month.
If Messi doesn't start, expect Pedro to come into the front line alongside Neymar and Luis Suarez.
Luis Enrique is likely to stick with a typical Barca 4-3-3, but it's doubtful that he will go with any surprise selections given that come kick-off time, Real Madrid are likely to have closed the gap at the top of the table to one point.
With Sergio Busquets now recovered from his own injury concerns, he will anchor a midfield, including Ivan Rakitic and an out-of-sorts Andres Iniesta.
It's about time that the latter got his name on the scoresheet or at the very least on the assists chart, as pointed out by Mitchel Bonsra:
While it's acknowledged that Iniesta's role is evolving and he isn't perhaps in the advanced positions as often as previously, no goals or assists coming into April is an astonishing statistic for a player of his talent.
Javier Mascherano was Barca's best defensive performer when the teams last met, in a back line which included Jeremy Mathieu.
We shouldn't expect to see the Frenchman starting here, but neither will El Jefe who is suspended.
It should give Marc Bartra the perfect opportunity to partner the excellent Gerard Pique.
Jordi Alba misses out, per Rik Sharma of Sport, after picking up an injury to his right adductor while on duty for the Spanish national team.
His place will be taken by Adriano Correia with Dani Alves and Claudio Bravo completing the line-up.
Eduardo Berizzo will go with his usual 4-3-3, with Nolito and Joaquin Larrivey leading the line and looking to repeat their Camp Nou trick. Both are playing well so don't bet against it.
Man of the match last time out against Levante, Michael Krohn-Dehli will provide his usual excellence given half the chance. His wanderlust means that Augusto Fernandez will have to be disciplined and stay sitting just in front of his defenders.
Fabian Orellana and Santi Mina can cause problems all game long for Adriano if they're not taken care of during the early stages. Mina may well often look to drive at the heart of Barca's defence, allowing Orellana the space to overlap and cause problems for the visitors with the high ball.
Sergi Gomez returns to join Andreu Fontas in an ex-Barca central defence. Fontas is the weaker link of the two, and Luis Enrique will look to expose the defenders' limitations.
Jonny remains a fixture at left-back with some solid performances during this campaign, and Hugo Mallo takes up his usual right-back berth.
Sergio Alvarez has the unenviable task of keeping goal against the highest scorers in the division.
The hosts have enough about them to cause another shock and four wins in their last eight says that their form is returning just at the right time.
Whether they can contain a Barca side playing some sparkling stuff remains to be seen.
Player to Watch
Although he's the wrong side of 30 now, Michael Krohn-Dehli remains a tricky customer.
The Dane is out of contract at the end of the season, and Celta appear to have been in no rush to secure him on a longer-term deal.
It's a strange one because, although his age precludes Celta from going overboard with him in contract terms, he can certainly do a job for at least another 12 months or so.
Eduardo Fernandez-Abascal of the International Business Times notes Krohn-Dehli's excellence in a slightly more defensive midfield role this season, and his reliability isn't in question either. Twenty-four starts from 26 games isn't a bad return!
If he is allowed time on the ball, he will relish the chance to work in between the lines and cause problems.
Key Battle
Ex-Barca B player Sergi Gomez was Celta's star performer at Camp Nou. Perhaps having a point to prove to his former employers helped him raise his game.
Whatever was thrown his way during the 90 minutes, Gomez was more than up to the task.
Luis Suarez was keen to make an impression on his official home debut, and while he escaped the shackles once or twice, Gomez dealt with the threat with aplomb.
Things are likely to be very much different now.
The Uruguayan is enjoying his best form of the season and continues to work incredibly well with both Neymar and Messi as the Catalans go in search of silverware.
Eight goals in his last nine games, per WhoScored.com is a sign of a man at the very top of his game. And lest we forget, Suarez can score any type of goal.
Gomez may well get the better of him aerially, but Suarez is likely to take the defender to the cleaners with the standard of his floor work.
It should make for a fascinating contest.
Odds
The following pre-match odds via Odds Shark:
Home Win: 447-50
Away Win: 20-69
Draw: 109-25
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