If there is anything consistent about this Barcelona side is their defense. The only absence is that of Sergi Roberto. Other than that, you know what you’re going to get with everyone else healthy.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen will be in goal and look to go for his fifth consecutive clean sheet of the restart.
Nelson Semedo will once again play in place of the injured Roberto and the rest of the defense will be made up of Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet and Jordi Alba.
While we know who will start, the question then becomes how will they fare against a side they’ve historically had problems with. They’ve lost three out of their last five visits to Celta Vigo and have not kept a clean sheet in any of those games.
Even with the clean sheets it’s not like they’ve been flawless in defense. Ter Stegen has had to bail out his defense on multiple occasions and teams are creating clear cut opportunities. Especially on breakaways.
Had their opponents been a bit more clinical in the final third, we might already be talking of a Barcelona team well behind Real Madrid. But we’re not. Ter Stegen and a bit of luck has been on their side.
But they’re going to need more than that if they want to beat Celta who recently signed Nolito and feature a Rafinha who has stayed healthy this season and shown how good of a player he is when fit and, of course, their goalscorer, Iago Aspas.
Expected Barcelona Defense
Goalkeeper: Marc-Andre ter Stegen
Right-back: Nelson Semedo
Center-back (right): Gerard Pique
Center-back (left): Clement Lenglet
Left-back: Jordi Alba