Barcelona face another harsh test without Lamine Yamal in Celta Vigo

The international break was not enough time for Barcelona to recover Lamine Yamal as the talented 17-year-old is set to miss Barcelona's second straight league fixture.

Hansi Flick confirmed Yamal's absence during his pre-match press conference.

"He's an important player for us but we have to adapt, there are other players," Flick said. "Lamine can't play tomorrow, we'll see when he can return."

Against Real Sociedad, Barcelona suffered their second loss of the season. In fact, both of Barcelona's defeats this season have come without Yamal. The other, against Osasuna, Yamal started on the bench but came on and scored a goal in the loss.

Following the loss to Real Sociedad, there were talks of whether Barcelona were too dependent on Yamal, which of course led to Flick being asked whether his team could win without him.

"I will ask the team this," Flick said. "I think it's a good question for them."

Flick added that Yamal's absence against La Real was not the main reason as to why they lost rather they simply didn't play very good.

With Yamal's absence, Flick opted to play with four midfielders: Marc Casado, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Fermin Lopez with Fermin playing more out wide, accompanying Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski up front. with limited success.

Flick could decide to go the same route as with Fermin, he gets a player who is more willing to do the defensive work that they might need against a Celta Vigo side who notoriously causes Barcelona problems at Balaidos.

In their last match, Flick brought on Ansu Fatia and Dani Olmo to add more attacking threat but neither of them were able to make a significant impact. He won't be able to count on Fati who suffered an injury the day after the game and is expected to need a few more weeks before he's available again.

Should Flick want a more pure attacker, he does have Pau Victor who was one of the club's few signings but hasn't seen much playing time. Without Fati and Ferran Torres, Victor could be the beneficiary as he's the only first team winger fit.

It's an important game for Barcelona who saw their lead shrink to six points following the loss to Real Madrid who also have a game in hand. The Catalan side want to maintain their lead on Los Blancos and a win over Celta Vigo would not only do that but instill confidence that they're capable of winning, and playing well, without their star youngster.