Barcelona play host to Celta Vigo on Saturday evening and will look to retain a one-point lead at La Liga’s summit with a fifth successive league victory at the Camp Nou.
The league outing will be Barca manager Luis Enrique’s first fixture since announcing he will step down from the position at the end of this season, and it will be interesting to see how his team reacts.
It just so happens Enrique will come up against Celta, the team he left in order to take up his role at the Camp Nou and who are enduring a torrid patch in form, having won just twice in their last eight games.
Barca will be eager to attain some vengeance for the 4-3 defeat they suffered on their trip to the Estadio de Balaidos almost five months ago, where Celta star Iago Aspas inspired a mighty seven-goal result for the hosts.
Aspas will again be one of the danger men Barcelona will need to keep quiet if they’re to have any chance of keeping Berizzo’s men at bay on Saturday, while the hosts hope their defensive absences don’t let them down on the night.
So who will make it to the starting lineup against Celta? We think this could be Luis Enrique’s team on Saturday night.
Goalkeeper
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen will be in goal for the Catalan side.
Defence
Luis Enrique surprised everyone with his formation in midweek as he decided to play with a back three with Umtiti, Mascherano and Jordi Alba forming an expected defensive trio.
Gerard Piqué was rested for the game against Sporting and with the Champions League tie on the horizon, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him on the bench once again.
Midfield
With the Champions League in mind, Luis Enrique might look to save club captain Andrés Iniesta for the match against PSG. This could mean that Rafinha, Busquets and Rakitic start on the weekend.
The Spanish midfielder has only started one game for the club since that fateful night in Paris and he’ll look to make amends in the upcoming second leg at the Camp Nou on Wednesday night.
Forwards
There’s very little doubt that the potent attacking trio will start against Celta on the weekend especially as all three players found themselves on the scoresheet in midweek against Sporting.
Two out of the three forwards produced one of the moments of the year last season, as it was against Celta where Messi and Suarez combined to score one of the cheekiest penalties of all time.