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

It has been a long international break for Barcelona who are finally set to return to action against a complicated opponent at a ruthless venue.

The Blaugrana, after all, must travel to Galicia where they take on Celta Vigo at Municipal de Balaidos, a venue where they have not enjoyed much luck in recent years.

Two weeks after their last outing, the team welcomed Robert Lewandowski from his back injury but still have some key players out of action including young Lamine Yamal, Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres. Barcelona are, thus, far from clear favourites.

While Flick’s men are on top of the league standings, Celta are in 11th place with 17 points after 13 games and have won just five games this term. Notably, however, they are just three points away from a place in the top 6.

Barça Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Celta Vigo vs Barcelona.

Forgetting the hiccup

Barcelona must forget about their defeat against Real Sociedad. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

Barcelona were very close to completing the perfect window ahead of the international break after having beaten Sevilla, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Espanyol and Crvena Zvezda in five successive games last month.

However, they fell short at the final hurdle as they failed to beat Real Sociedad in the Basque country and thus recorded only their second defeat in La Liga this season.

The repercussions of dropping three points were massive as it helped Real Madrid undo the damage Barcelona inflicted in El Clasico and brought them back to the picture on the standings.

Against Celta Vigo, Hansi Flick’s men will strive to get back to their winning ways and put the unfortunate result in their last game past them.

The two-week break from club football gave many players sufficient time to recover from injuries and earn some deserved rest. For others, it was another tough run with the national team, although not remotely as hectic as the club calendar.

Back with fresh minds and spirits, the team will look to strike back and once again show the world why the game against Real Sociedad was a one-off incident.

No Lamine Yamal

Barcelona will be without Lamine Yamal against Celta Vigo. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)

Lamine Yamal travelled with the team to the Basque country two weeks ago but was removed from the squad hours before kickoff after it became apparent that he had discomfort in his ankle.

The player’s setback was a direct result of a strong challenge he received against Crvena Zvezda and he thus stayed away from the national team action over the past two weeks.

Despite taking two weeks of rest, Yamal is not at his 100% and Hansi Flick confirmed that he will not play any part in the team’s clash tomorrow night.

The development is worrying from the manager’s point of view, especially when one considers how the Catalans have often appeared lost on the field without the teenager‘s creative vision.

Further, his absence will directly impact Barcelona’s lethality on the counter-attack and the team’s ability to switch play dynamically.

The big challenge on Flick’s hands is to bridge the gap without having a like-for-like replacement.

Several options come to mind, with Fermin Lopez and Dani Olmo the most obvious solutions as they can play on the wing to good effect. Pau Victor, however, also makes a strong case to start and it remains to be seen which approach Flick opts for.

A stadium to fear

Barcelona’s record against Celta Vigo is quite troubling. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)

Municipal de Balaidos is one stadium where Barcelona have struggled in recent years and heading to the Vigo-based venue will thus be an uphill battle for the league leaders.

The team won at the Galician team’s home stadium last season courtesy of a 97th-minute penalty that Robert Lewandowski converted. The record prior to that is less encouraging.

Apart from last season’s win, Barcelona have beaten Celta Vigo at the Balaidos only once after April 2015.

Of the ten games played at the venue after April 2015, the hosts have won four times, Barcelona twice and four games have ended in a draw.

Considering that both of Hansi Flick’s defeats in La Liga so far and all their defeats this season have come on the road, the Blaugrana must be alert and ensure they do not slip to a second successive defeat.

After all, Celta Vigo’s only defeats at home so far this season have come against Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.