Barcelona look to open up a seven-point lead at the top of the La Liga table as they welcome continental football chasing Celta Vigo at Lluís Companys.
BAR vs CEV Match Details
Date: Saturday, 19 April 2025
Time: 16:15 (CET), 19:45 (IST)
Venue: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona
BAR vs CEV Match Preview
Barcelona came close to another catastrophic failure in the Champions League knockouts, almost giving away a comfortable 4-0 first-leg lead in Germany against Borussia Dortmund. The Catalan giant's feeble display in the second leg, uncanny for a side that has set incredible levels this season, allowed the host to score two unanswered goals within an hour to pile up the pressure on the guests. Thankfully, Flick's team got the goal they wanted as a cross from Fermin Lopez forced an own goal by Ramy Bensebaini, eventually helping them win 5-3 on aggregate despite a 3-1 loss in the evening with Serouh Guirassy completing his hat-trick later. A huge sigh of relief from the travelling fans who did not want a repeat of the second leg collapses like against Liverpool and Roma in past seasons. With the treble dream firmly alive by reaching a first Champions League semi-final since 2018-19, set to face Inter Milan at the stage, Barcelona refocuses on league action, where they could have a seven-point cushion now with a win this weekend. The side claimed a 1-0 victory over Leganes, also decided by an own goal in the last La Liga outing, but will want a more dominant showing against seventh-place Celta Vigo to forget the first loss of 2025 in all competitions.
Celta Vigo also had their eight-game unbeaten streak broken with a 2-0 loss at home against Espanyol, failing to score for the first time in 15 games. That proved costly as the gap with sixth spot that would give a Conference League qualification spot extended to five points. Considering the Sky Blues have a crushing schedule by facing the leaders Barcelona, Europa League aspirants Villarreal and holders Real Madrid in three straight games, the loss of momentum at this crucial juncture could be a big issue. Claudio Giraldez's side knows they have to carefully navigate this period, after which a more favourable set of games could help them achieve their goal of European football. However, it is easier said than done, even though Celta were able to hold the weekend’s opposition in the reverse clash and secured a 2-1 away win in this fixture not too long ago. The concern will be their leaky defence that has conceded 45 goals, more than any other side in the current top 12 standings, which will face the most prolific side in the division that has scored 84 goals this season and hasn’t failed to score since December last year. That victory at Camp Nou was also the only one they managed in a decade, showing the magnitude of the task for the visitors.
BAR vs CEV Recent Form (all competitions)
BAR: WDWWL
BAR vs CEV Recent Form (La Liga)
BAR: WWWDW
CEV: WWDWL
BAR vs CEV Predicted Lineups
Barcelona
Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsi, I Martinez, Martin; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Lopez, Raphinha; Lewandowski
Celta Vigo
Guaita; J Rodriguez, C Dominguez, Alonso; Carreira, Beltran, Moriba, Mingueza; Aspas, Iglesias, Gonzalez
BAR vs CEV head-to-head (La Liga)
Played - 121
BAR won - 69
Drawn - 28
CEV won - 24
BAR vs CEV head-to-head (at Barcelona home)
Played - 59
BAR won - 44
Drawn - 12
CEV won - 3
BAR vs CEV Dream11 Match Prediction
Barcelona have looked shaky over the last couple of games and could feel the legs of the chasing in the Champions League tie, but their quality in depth will help them to get back on the winning ways again. We predict a 2-1 win for Flick's side.
BAR vs CEV Dream11 Top picks
Captain Pick: Raphinha
Vice-captain Picks: Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal
BAR vs CEV Dream11 Team Suggestion
GK: Guaita (Cr - 7.5, Pts - 175)
DEF: Kounde (Cr - 8.5, Pts - 1051), Cubarsi (Cr - 8.5, Pts - 271), Alonso (Cr - 8.5, Pts - 256)
MID: Yamal (Cr - 9, Pts - 1312), Pedri (Cr - 8.5, Pts - 1147), Gonzalez (Cr - 7.5, Pts - 188), Lopez (Cr - 7, Pts - 488)
FW: Aspas (Cr - 8.5, Pts - 405), Lewandowski (Cr - 9, Pts - 1565), Raphinha (Cr - 9, Pts - 1592)
Vice-captain: Robert Lewandowski
Captain: Raphinha
