Following the disappointment of elimination from the Champions League, at the hands of the very same Atlético Madrid side that knocked them out of the Copa del Rey, FC Barcelona now return to the only competition in which they are still alive.

And they are very much alive in La Liga. With just seven more games to go and a healthy lead on their nearest challenger, Real Madrid, it’s beginning to look more a case when rather than if the Catalans add yet another league trophy to their collection.

On Wednesday at 9.30pm CET, Barça entertain Celta Vigo at Spotify Camp Nou, hoping to restore their nine-point lead, which was cut down to six, hopefully only temporarily, after Real Madrid beat Alavés on Tuesday. Anything other than a win would open the door for the all-whites, who will be coming to Barça’s ground on May 10. 

“We’ll give everything for the fans” vowed coach Hansi Flick in his pre-match press conference. “The elimination hurt us, but it gives us energy for the next few matches. We’ve had a few days of rest and that has helped us clear our heads. The team is in good spirits and always learns from defeats.” 

Barça have been in unstoppable form when playing at home in La Liga, having won 16 our of 16 games played so far, and need just three more victories to set what would not be a first in the competition, but would be the first time a team has done it since the division contained 20 teams. Home or away, the current run in seven wins in a row, the most recent success being the 4-1 derby victory over Espanyol.

Celta form guide

The visitors come into the game on the back of similar European misery last week. 6-1 defeat on aggregate to Freiburg meant their Europa League journey also ended at the quarter final stage.

In the league things didn’t start too well for the Galicians, but the wins started coming towards the end of 2025, and they were soon challenging for European slots, with a Champions League berth not entirely out of the question. But they have faltered somewhat of late, with just three wins from their last 11 outings, including a shock 3-0 reverse at home to struggling Oviedo last week. The UCL is looking highly unlikely now, but Celta are still locked in a tight battle for a a place for one of the other continental competitions.

Head to head

Barça have generally had the upper hand against Celta, having lost just one of the last nine meetings in La Liga. But a number of those clashes have been remarkably close calls. None more so than the game at the Estadi Olimpic last season, where Celta led 3-1 going into the last half hour, but Barça managed to get it back to 3-3 and then won the tie thanks to a Raphinha penalty in the eighth minute of injury time.

The meeting at Balaidos earlier this season was another lively one, with Celta twice responding quickly to Robert Lewandowski goals because Lamine Yamal and the Pole (yet again) score to make it 4-2.

Barça made it through on those occasions, but not in 2021, the last time Celta won at Camp Nou, 2-1 thanks to a brace from Santi Mina.

Lewy vs. Aspas

The three goals in last season were not the only time that Lewandowski has found the net against the sky blues. In total he’s scored eight goals against them in just five games, his second best record against a Liga side. 

But if Barça have a specialist in scoring against Celta, Celta have their own specialist in the other direction. Their captain Iago Aspas has scored eleven times against Barça, more than any other player for any team this century. And Borja Iglesias got three of his own in the seven-goal thriller last season, and has 15 across al competitions in 2025-26. Ferran Jutglà, a former blaugrana, is another of the men to look out for in Celta’s very strong frontline. 

Team news

Barça are once again without the injured Raphinha and Andreas Christensen, but Pau Cubarsi is back after missing the Champions League game through suspension.

Celta have even fewer fitness concerns, with Miguel Roman the only certain absentee with a broken foot.