While the 2022/2023 La Liga title has been secured by FC Barcelona, there is still one matchday left to officially conclude the season for the Catalans. They travel to the city of Vigo to take on their final opponents on matchday 38 of their La Liga campaign.
Match Details:
Date: Sunday, 4th June 2023
Competition: La Liga Santander
Matchday: 38
Time: 09:00 pm CET
Venue: Estadio de Balaidos
Match Overview:
FC Barcelona have already managed to secure the league trophy on Matchday 34 against Espanyol in the Barcelona Derby. Since then, there has been an obvious dip in both intensity and the quality at display by La Blaugrana.
A common occurrence that has been assessed even in the past when teams manage to secure league titles earlier than the final few match days, it is understandable that the squad would not be able to motivate themselves to operate at the high level they were showcasing prior to the title race being concluded.
With Robert Lewandowski having 23 goals to his name already in his first season in Spain, the Polish striker is set to win the Pichichi award for being the top scorer of La Liga.
On the other hand, Marc Andre Ter Stegen will be looking to overtake the European record for clean sheets that he just recently managed to equal in the 3-0 victory over RCD Mallorca. A tall task, especially given the quality of absentees in the squad list for this game from the perspective of Barcelona.
From the perspective of Celta Vigo however, this match holds a life-or-death value to it. Battling relegation against Real Valladolid, Celta Vigo need a victory to ensure they stay up in La Liga this season.
For if they manage to either draw or lose this game, Real Valladolid simply need to win their own match against Getafe to overtake Celta Vigo and send the latter crashing down to the Segunda Division alongside Elche and Espanyol.
In terms of form, Barcelona have 3 wins and 2 losses in their last 5 La Liga outings, a visible decline in form.
Celta Vigo on the other hand, have been abysmal. With 4 losses and 1 draw being their results in the last 5 games, they will need to completely turn their prior fortune around and do absolutely everything right to make sure they emerge as victors this time around.
The one to watch out for from the opposition’s squad will undoubtedly be Iago Aspas. The Spaniard is the team’s top scorer this season, managing to score 12 goals despite being in a team that has been anything but impressive this season. Keeping Aspas at bay will be crucial for Barcelona, especially given that he has a knack for finding his best form against La Blaugrana.