Due to the staggered start of the 2020/21 Spanish La Liga season, some teams will be playing their fourth fixture of the season this week while for others it will be only their second game. That applies in the meeting between Celta Vigo and Barcelona on Thursday night at the Abanca-Balaídos Stadium.
Celta Vigo will be playing their fourth match of the campaign and they have made a promising start to the season. They started by picking up a point in a 0-0 draw at Eibar before winning their first home match, which was a good 2-1 victory over Valencia. Iago Aspas was the man who scored both goals.
On the weekend, Celta Vigo travelled to Valladolid and came away with a point in a 1-1 draw. Again, it was Aspas who got the goal but having taken the lead Celta Vigo could not hold on and were forced to settle for a point.
Trends show Celta Vigo are tough to beat at home and they are unbeaten in 11 of their last 13 home matches in La Liga. However, they have drawn 5 of their last 8 league games and both teams have scored in 8 of their last 10 La Liga matches.
Barcelona started their season last weekend with a commanding 4-0 victory at home against Villarreal. Ansu Fati was the star of the show and scored two goals inside the opening 20 minutes of the match. Lionel Messi added a third goal before half time, with the fourth coming courtesy of an own goal.
Barcelona endured a disappointing end to last season which culminated in an 8-2 loss against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. They also lost the Spanish title to Real Madrid and there has been plenty of unrest at the Camp Nou over the course of the summer.
However, trends show Barcelona have not been beaten in 25 of their 28 most recent matches in La Liga. They are undefeated in each of their last 6 away league games, including wins in each of their last 3 matches on the road. There have also been 2 draws in those 6 away games, including one at upcoming opponents, Celta Vigo. In fact, if you go back a little further Barcelona have won only 5 of their last 11 away La Liga matches.
Looking ahead to the team news and Celta Vigo have three players unavailable due to injury, with David Junca, Ruben Blanco, and Sergio Alvarez all missing out. Iago Aspas should be fit to start in attack.
Barcelona travel without injured goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen and striker Martin Braithwaite. The injury to ter Stegen means Neto will continue in goal.
Celta Vigo have the ability make life tough for any team when playing at home, as Barcelona found out to their cost last season. This should be a great match to watch, with both teams scoring and it could easily end in a draw.