How will Barcelona line up against Celta Vigo in a tough La Liga road trip?

Barcelona look to rebound from a hugely disappointing draw against Granada at home this weekend in what promises to be a tough La Liga away trip to Balaídos to meet Celta Vigo on Saturday evening.

Barça play the biggest game of their season on Wednesday in Italy when they face Napoli in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie, and a win away at Celta would certainly be a much-needed boost of confidence for Xavi Hernández and his team.

But as every Barça fan knows a win away at Celta is never a guarantee, and the Celestes will look to take advantage of the Blaugrana’s poor form to once again take points from the Catalans at home.

Here’s how we think Xavi will line up his troops for Saturday’s battle.

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Defense

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Under normal circumstances this would be an opportunity to rotate the squad and rest a few key players for a monster European match, but Xavi has no choice but to play his best guys. There are still several injuries to contend with, a win is a must after the Granada disaster, and Barça will play Saturday and Wednesday after a full week of training which gives the squad enough time to rest and prepare for the trip to Naples.

Ronald Araujo was given a rare rest last week, and the Uruguayan was certainly missed as the Blaugrana fell apart at the back once again. Araujo will no doubt return to the lineup for this one, most likely in place of young Pau Cubarsí who had a tough outing last week. Jules Kounde, Iñigo Martínez and João Cancelo will likely complete the back four.

Midfield

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It seems as though Xavi wants to give Andreas Christensen as many chances in midfield as possible, with the Dane playing alongside Frenkie de Jong in a double pivot due to the absences in attack as well as the injuries to Oriol Romeu and Sergi Roberto.

Xavi will probably stick with that midfield setup again, which means more advanced roles for Ilkay Gündogan and Pedri. There’s also a chance Xavi opts for a more attacking setup and goes with a classic 4-3-3 with De Jong, Gündogan and Pedri in the middle and Christensen either on the bench or at the back.

Attack

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Lamine Yamal continues to evolve into one of Barça’s best and most important players, which is why the 16-year-old really needs a rest on Saturday to arrive at the Napoli game as close to 100% as possible.

Raphinha returned last week and is the perfect replacement for Yamal on the right wing, though Vitor Roque is back from suspension and is also in contention to start up front. Robert Lewandowski will lead the line, and the Pole is a prime candidate to be substituted sometime in the second half — probably by Roque — to give him extra minutes of rest ahead of the trip to Naples.

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Possible XI: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Iñigo, Cancelo; Christensen, De Jong; Raphinha, Gündogan, Pedri; Lewandowski (4-2-3-1)

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How do you think Barcelona should line up against Celta? Let us know your thoughts, predictions and teams in the comments below!