Barcelona welcomes Celta
Barcelona welcomes Celta at the Camp Nou in a match from the 13th round of La Liga. It’s a hard moment for Los Cules’ manager Ernesto Valverde, who is getting more and more criticized by the press and the fans. Can he motivate his players again? That’s a big question right now.
After their defeat against Levante last weekend, Barcelona once again dissapointed few days later against Slavia Praha in the Champions League. Despite of being big favourites against the Czech team, Los Cules didn’t score a single goal and the game ended with a 0-0 draw. Ousmane Dembele and Ansu Fati tried to step up in the absence of the injured Luis Suarez, but shockingly Barca didn’t succeed in penetrating Slavia’s defense.
Most likely Ernesto Valverde will try to make some changes against Celta on Saturday. Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann should start in attack, but one between Ousmane Dembele and Ansu Fati would be chosen by Valverde to enter the starting eleven.
Another problem for Valverde is the injury of the left back Jordi Alba. The Spanish international suffered a hamstring injury against Slavia Praha, so he won’t play on Saturday.
Celta are having a really problematic season so far. Os Celestes are in the relegation zone of the Spanish league, being positioned at 18th place with just 9 points won so far. In 12 games played, Celta managed to win just twice. Right now they are in an awful run of four consecutive losses in the league.
Far from surprising, this led to some changes at the Balaidos. The club’s board decided to sack the manager Fran Escriba and replace him with Oscar Garcia. Oscar will debut against the club he played for as a player – Barcelona.
Times are hard for Barcelona, but this game against a struggling Celta side is a good chance for the Catalans to bring their confidence back. Let’s see if they can do it.