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Barcelona have made the trip to Municipal de Balaidos in Vigo to lock horns against Celta Vigo for La Liga gameweek 25. This particular away trip has been a pain in the bottom for the Catalans, who have won only once in this stadium in the last nine years.
The goal will be to bite back after only picking up a point last weekend against Granada in the 3-3 draw. And ahead of the Napoli clash, Xavi has gone for an interesting starting lineup, to say the least.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen returned to action vs Granada for the first time in three months owing to his back injury. He retains his place in goal, and is screened by Ronald Araujo and Pau Cubarsi in central defence, while Inigo Martinez starts on the bench.
Jules Kounde continues as the right-back, while Joao Cancelo’s spot at left-back also remains undisputed with Alejandro Balde injured and out for the rest of the season.
There is one major change in the midfield as Ilkay Gundogan has been rested for this game, probably keeping in mind the Napoli clash. Instead, Frenkie de Jong and Pedri start as part of the trident together after a while.
Andreas Christensen seems to have found home in the holding midfield position, and has been given his third successive start in a row in the centre of the park.
Xavi has opted to go for Vitor Roque in attack, starting him on the left side of the front-three, while Lamine Yamal starts his seventh successive game, as the right-winger.
Robert Lewandowski has three goals and an assist in his last five games, and will be hopping to add to that today as he continues to spearhead the team as the no. 9.
🚨 BARÇA XI 🚨#CeltaBarça pic.twitter.com/R6OYv9vZej
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 17, 2024Confirmed Barça XI: ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Cancelo; Pedri, Christensen, de Jong; Yamal, Lewandowski, Roque