Barcelona look to bounce back against Celta Vigo

Barcelona let a golden opportunity to cut the distance between themselves and Girona last weekend. The Catalans could have pulled within three points of second place but dropped two points at home against Granada.

Barcelona simply cannot afford to drop any more points and need to pick up a win on the road against a difficult Celta Vigo side.

"It's a difficult trip against a team with a highly methodical coach who does things right," Xavi Hernandez said. "But we are going to need to show that we are able to keep competing."

The draw against Granada not only kept them from inching closer to Girona, it all but put them out of contention for the league title. However, that doesn't mean there is nothing left to play for.

Barcelona need to finish in second place to qualify for next season's Spanish Super Cup and need to assure themselves of finishing in Champions League places. Not doing so would mean a significant financial blow.

It's why the match against Celta Vigo is important because, historically, the Catalans have struggled at Balaidos. They lost there last season albeit with the league title all sewn up.

In their previous encounter this season, Barcelona needed a comeback to win 3-2 with Joao Cancelo scoring the winner late with an assist from Gavi. The former is nursing an injury though is expected to play with the latter out for the remainder of the campaign.

The only player Barcelona recover for the match against Celta is Oriol Romeu who was dealing with kneww injury. Vitor Roque is also back following a suspension after picking up two yellow cards in the win over Alaves.

"The squad is united and training hard," Xavi said. "There is also unity with the club president and Deco. But we can't afford any more slips. I am positive that we can make u the lost ground. That's the direction we are workng in, improving in defense, in pressure.

Ronald Araujo, who was on the bench but didn't feature against Granada, is likely to play against Celta Vigo which could help in Xavi's task of improving the defense.

In addition to some of the reasons mentioned above, Barcelona need to win in order to head into the Champions League match against Napoli with some confidence. While they're by no means favorite to win it, reaching the quarterfinals would be a step in the right direction and would mean more revenue.

Rafa Benitez and his Celta side have already given Barcelona more than a scare this season. Both Xavi and his players will need to show they are up to the task. LaLiga and the Champions League may be out of reach, but Barcelona have plenty to play for and they need to win for the sake of next season.