FC Barcelona Faces RC Celta de Vigo Amid Staffing Challenges

On November 23, 2024, FC Barcelona will travel to Galicia to face RC Celta de Vigo in an important La Liga fixture. The match is set to take place at the Estadio Abanca-Balaídos at 3:00 PM local time, with coverage provided by ESPN Deportes and ESPN+.

Barcelona enters the match following a narrow 1-0 defeat in their last away game. Meanwhile, Celta de Vigo managed a 2-2 draw on the road against an unspecified opponent on November 10, with Javier Rodríguez Galiano and another player on the scoresheet for Celta de Vigo.

The clash between these two clubs will feature some of the league’s top scorers, making it a highly anticipated encounter in the season calendar. The betting line currently favors Barcelona by -0.5.

Hansi Flick, Barcelona’s head coach, has announced a list of 23 players for Saturday’s showdown. Notably absent from the lineup is young talent Lamine Yamal, who continues to recover from an ankle injury. Other key players also missing due to injuries include Marc-André ter Stegen, Ansu Fati, Andreas Christensen, and Marc Bernal.

However, in positive injury news for the club, Ronald Araujo, Ferran Torres, and Eric García have resumed training, though they have not been medically cleared to participate in the upcoming match.

In response to the injury-related absences, academy players Guille Fernández and Noah Darvich have been called up to join the first team, having trained with them throughout the week. FC Barcelona’s predicted starting XI follows a 4-3-3 formation, featuring Iñaki Peña as goalkeeper, and fronted by the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha in attack.

The match is eagerly awaited by fans worldwide, with kick-off times corresponding to 9 PM CET in Barcelona and Nigeria, 8 PM GMT in the UK, and 3 PM ET in the US.