Madrid, April 21 (IANS) League leaders Barcelona return to Camp Nou on Wednesday night, aiming to take another step toward this season’s La Liga title against a Celta Vigo side seeking to halt a recent slide in form.

This will be Barcelona’s first game since their Champions League quarterfinal defeat to Atletico Madrid, and their nine-point lead at the top of the table could be cut to six before kickoff if Real Madrid beat Alaves at home on Tuesday night.

Barcelona have been flawless in La Liga since returning to Camp Nou at the end of 2025, winning all 11 of their league games at the stadium and scoring 35 goals. But they face one of the league’s strongest away sides, with Celta having suffered only two defeats on the road.

However, Claudio Giraldez’s side has endured a recent dip in form, with a painful Europa League exit to Freiburg and only one win from its last five league matches.

Raphinha remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, while Marc Bernal’s twisted ankle appears to be taking longer to heal than expected. Players such as Pedri and Lamine Yamal, however, will have benefited from not having a weekend game.

Fermin Lopez will play wearing a face mask to protect the broken nose he suffered last week against Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano Stadium.

While Barcelona were able to enjoy a weekend off, Atletico Madrid lost the Copa del Rey final to Real Sociedad on Saturday night after 120 minutes of intense football and a penalty shootout, reports Xinhua.

Both sides return to action on Wednesday, with Atletico travelling to third-from-bottom Elche, which would almost certainly move out of the relegation zone with a third successive home win.

Atletico have to rest Ademola Lookman and Alexander Sorloth, who both picked up muscle problems at the weekend, and they are not the only players likely to miss the trip to Elche.

Saturday’s effort and next week’s Champions League semifinal against Arsenal mean Atletico coach Diego Simeone is very likely to make sweeping changes to his starting lineup, knowing his side has a nine-point cushion over Betis in the table.

Real Sociedad’s Copa del Rey win means the club from San Sebastian has already secured a place in next season’s Europa League, and the players celebrated with an open-top parade through the city on Monday.

The extent of those celebrations, along with the desire to finish fifth, which could bring a Champions League place at the end of the season, could influence how Real Sociedad performs at Anoeta against a combative Getafe side that would leapfrog it in the table with an away win.

–IANS

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