Celta Vigo vs Barcelona
They head up La Liga and have made a super start to life under new manager Hansi Flick.
Indeed, Barcelona have been in quite the run of form domestically and abroad, winning El Clasico in style and putting four past Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Yet as they prepare to travel to Galicia this weekend, they could be forgiven for a touch of nerves.
For their recent record at Balaidos does not inspire a whole lot of confidence.
They may be separated by 10 places and a whopping 16 points in the table but La Liga 2024 highlights are far from guaranteed for the pacesetters.
Talking Points
Celta Vigo have historically fared well at home against Barcelona to the extent where there is a phrase called a ‘Celta curse’.
Over the past decade, Celta have won four of their clashes with an additional three draws which is a better home record than most sides can claim to have had against Barca during the same period.
They are in a decent run of form too and have been entertaining to watch with their first 13 league matches featuring 42 goals. They come into this one on the back of a 2-2 draw with Real Betis at the Benito Villamarin in Andalusia a fortnight ago, a result which extended their unbeaten run to four games across all competitions.
For all their talent, Barca are facing something of a mini crisis in attack this weekend too, without the services of Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres, and possibly Robert Lewandowski and teenager superstar Lamine Yamal.
In the case of Yamal, he has missed both games that Barca have lost so far this season which perhaps tells its own story.
They have had a real boost though with the news that Dani Olmo could well start.
The 26-year-old Spanish star played against Denmark last week but was rested completely by national team boss Luis de la Fuente against Switzerland on Tuesday night.
The timing is ideal for the club where he will return rested and freshened up.
And don’t be surprised if Eric Garcia is named on the bench either.
He could well make a comeback following a month out since sustaining an injury during the warm-up before Barcelona’s 5-1 victory over Sevilla.
Both returns would be welcome for a side which has won 14 of its opening 17 matches across La Liga and the Champions League so far.
The hosts have an absentee of their own with influential midfielder Luca de la Torre missing out and the American unlikely to return to action until the start of next month.
History
Last season, Barcelona won 2-1 in this fixture but my word they left it late.
Ninety-seven minutes had elapsed when Lewandowski converted a penalty to seal the points – all this after Iago Aspas had equalised the Pole frontman’s opener.
Barca also edged their home fixture 3-2 in a remarkable finish as, trailing to goals from Jorgen Strand Larsen and Anastasios Douvikas, they scored three times in the last nine minutes through a Lewandowski double and Joao Cancelo.
As I mentioned, Barcelona have struggled to defeat Celta regularly on their own turf.
Their first of only three victories during the past decade against Celta at Balaidos came way back in September 2015 – a 1-0 win.
Celta’s most recent success at home to Barca came in June last year, the final day of the 2022-23 La Liga campaign.
On that occasion, the Galician outfit were fighting for survival whilst Barcelona had already secured the La Liga title.
The very first meeting between these two sides came in the semi-finals of the 1932 Copa Republica.
Juan Ramon scored twice in a 3-0 Barcelona home win. Celta Vigo won the second leg 2-1 but the Catalans prevailed 4-2 on aggregate.
Betting Tip
Barca are the boys to back with the SBOTOP La Liga 2024 betting odds.
You can put your money on the leaders in a variety of ways, such as 1X2 @ 1.68 and Asian Handicap -1.00 @ 2.19.
If you fancy Celta Vigo to cause more upset for the Catalonians, then tempting odds of 1X2 @ 4.10 and Asian Handicap +0.50 @ 2.28 are more your thing.
Barcelona are on offer @ 7.70 to win 2-1, just like last season, while goal bets include Total Goals 0-1 @ 4.74, 2-3 @ 2.18, and 4-6 @ 2.52.
Celta Vigo may be in midtable with a negative goal difference after 13 league games, but I actually feel they can claim something in this.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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