Barcelona will be looking to continue their fine form at the start of the season as they welcome Celta Vigo to the Estadi Olimpic for a La Liga fixture on Saturday. The visitors have found things difficult this season and should struggle at the makeshift home of the champions.
Barcelona’s title defence appears to be coming along nicely as they are yet to taste defeat across all competitions this season. They have claimed four wins and a draw from five La Liga matches and are only two points behind leaders Real Madrid.
The Catalans have looked particularly imperious in recent weeks as they claimed a 5-0 victory over Real Betis last time out in La Liga. Xavi’s men matched that result in midweek, picking up another 5-0 win over Royal Antwerp in the Champions League.
Barcelona are ticking in attack with Robert Lewandowski, Ferran Torres and Joao Felix all looking sharp going forward. The defence also continues to impress as they have now kept clean sheets in their last three home matches across all competitions.
While Barcelona are battling near the top of the table, Celta Vigo appear to be gearing up for another relegation scrap. They are currently 16th on the standings having picked up just one win from five La Liga matches so far.
Celta Vigo travel to the Estadi Olimpic off the back of a 1-0 home defeat to Mallorca in their previous La Liga fixture. They saw plenty of possession and created several goalscoring opportunities but lacked the cutting edge in attack.
It has been a strange campaign for Celta Vigo, who have lost all three of their home matches so far while remaining unbeaten on the road. Rafael Benitez’s men played out a 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad before picking up a 3-2 win over Almeria in their previous away fixture.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have installed Barcelona as overwhelming favourites with a home win priced at 3/10 by bet365. An unlikely victory for Celta Vigo is valued at 9/1 by William Hill while Paddy Power is offering odds of 9/2 for a draw.
Head to head
Barcelona have a 26-12 advantage with 14 draws from 52 previous matches against Celta Vigo. Both teams won their home clash last season with the Catalans claiming a 1-0 victory in front of their fans.
Players to watch
Robert Lewandowski is beginning to find his rhythm for Barcelona and having found the net in his last four matches, the striker could be backed to maintain his scoring run at 4/6 with bet365. Joao Felix also appears to have settled quickly with three goals in three appearances and could be worth keeping an eye on at 21/10 with Unibet.
Despite flexing their attacking muscles lately, Barcelona have given away nothing at the back, securing shutouts in their last three home matches. Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen remain solid in central defence and could lead the Catalans to a clean sheet at 11/10 with BoyleSports.
Anything else catch the eye?
Barcelona have won to nil in their last three home matches and a similar outcome is priced at 13/10 with BetVictor. Having scored five goals in each of their last two matches, a -1 handicap can also be considered at 22/25 with Unibet.
The Catalans have won both halves in the last two matches and Saturday’s clash could be set to follow a similar pattern at 15/8 with Paddy Power.
This La Liga match between Barcelona and Celta Vigo will be played on Sep 23, 2023 and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Barcelona vs Celta Vigo prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
