Barcelona could see their La Liga title hopes ended this weekend, but the Catalan giants will still be desperate to pick up all three points when they welcome an in-form Celta Vigo to Camp Nou.
Ronald Koeman's side are currently third in the table, four points behind leaders Atletico Madrid with two games left, while Celta, who have won their last four matches, occupy eighth position.
Match preview
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Barca, at this moment in time, are still in the title race, but a lot would have to happen in order to allow the Catalan outfit to finish ahead of both Atletico and Real Madrid at the summit.
Indeed, the 3-3 draw with Levante on Tuesday night effectively ended Barca's hopes, as they now sit four points behind leaders Atletico with just two games left. Koeman's side are also two points behind second-placed Real Madrid and only two points clear of fourth-placed Sevilla entering the penultimate round of fixtures.
It is certainly a possibility that they could finish down in fourth, which would be seen as a poor campaign, despite the fact that the Copa del Rey title was secured in the middle of April.
Barca also disappointed in the Champions League this season, and Koeman is believed to have met with club president Joan Laporta on Thursday to discuss his future at the club.
All Blaugrana can do is win their next two matches and see where that leaves them, but they have found it difficult to show their best form at Camp Nou this term, dropping points in seven of their 18 La Liga games on home soil.
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Celta have actually ended each of the last two La Liga seasons in 17th position, but they are currently on course for their highest finish at this level of football since claiming sixth in 2015-16.
Indeed, a record of 13 wins, 11 draws and 12 defeats from 36 matches has brought them 50 points, which is enough for eighth position, with four points separating them from ninth-placed Athletic Bilbao.
Eduardo Coudet's side will also enter this weekend's match in excellent form, having claimed maximum points from each of their last four league games, including a 1-0 success over Getafe on Wednesday night.
Nolito's first-half effort proved to be the difference between the two sides during the week, and the Sky Blues will now be looking for two more positive results against Barca and Real Betis to finish their season on a high.
Celta have only lost six of their 18 away La Liga matches this term, but they have not beaten Barca on their travels in Spain's top flight since November 2014, while Koeman's team ran out 3-0 winners when they locked horns in the reverse match back in October 2020.
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Team News
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Barca will again be without the services of Ansu Fati and Philippe Coutinho due to long-term knee injuries, while Sergi Roberto has been ruled out of the contest due to a thigh problem.
The home side will also be without the services of Frenkie de Jong due to the yellow card that the Netherlands international picked up in the draw with Levante last time out.
Koeman is expected to keep faith with the majority of the players that started on Tuesday, with Ronald Araujo in line to retain his spot in the middle of the defence, as Oscar Mingueza is expected to represent Barcelona B in their promotion playoff with UCAM Murcia on Sunday.
As for Celta, Nestor Araujo and Facundo Ferreyra are both available following one-match bans, and the former is expected to be handed a spot in the middle of the defence this weekend.
The visitors are still missing a number of important players, though, with Sergio Alvarez, Ruben Blanco, Emre Mor, Jeison Murillo and Renato Tapia on the sidelines through injury.
There are not expected to be many surprises in the away side's XI for this match, with Nolito, Denis Suarez, Brais Mendez, Santi Mina and Iago Aspas all set to feature in attacking areas.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Araujo, Pique, Lenglet; Dest, Busquets, Pedri, Alba; Griezmann, Messi, Dembele
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Villar; Mallo, Aidoo, Araujo, Martin; Beltran; Mendez, Suarez, Nolito; Mina, Aspas
We say: Barcelona 2-1 Celta Vigo
Celta's recent form must be respected, and this could be a potentially very difficult match for Barca, who showed their defensive issues against Levante. We are expecting a tight game on Sunday evening but fancy Koeman's side to return to winning ways, with Messi potentially on the scoresheet.
Top tip
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Barcelona win with a probability of 72.77%. A draw had a probability of 16.3% and a win for Celta Vigo had a probability of 10.94%.
The most likely scoreline for a Barcelona win was 2-0 with a probability of 11.01%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.38%) and 3-0 (9.06%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (7.61%), while for a Celta Vigo win it was 1-2 (3.24%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 3.2% likelihood.
