Celta de Vigo and FC Barcelona face each other this Sunday in LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26 at the Balaídos Stadium (21:00 CEST), for the twelfth matchday of the tournament. Hansi Flick's team arrives with five players out due to injury, awaiting confirmation of whether Jules Koundé will be included in the squad.

We review the possible starting lineup, the substitute bench, and the injured and suspended players for Hansi Flick's Barcelona for the match against Celta. Complete analysis!

Possible Barça Starting XI against Celta

  1. (#25, P) Szczesny
  2. (#24) Eric García
  3. (#04) Ronald Araujo
  4. (#05) Pau Cubarsí
  5. (#03) Alejandro Balde
  6. (#17) Marc Casadó
  7. (#21) Frenkie de Jong
  8. (#16) Fermín López
  9. (#10) Lamine Yamal
  10. (#14) Marcus Rashford
  11. (#07) Ferran Torres

Barça Bench (substitute players)

  1. (#31, P) Diego Kochen
  2. (#33, P) Eder Aller
  3. (#09) Robert Lewandowski
  4. (#15) Andreas Christensen
  5. (#18) Gerard Martín
  6. (#20) Dani Olmo
  7. (#22) Marc Bernal
  8. (#23) Jules Koundé
  9. (#26) Jofre Torrents
  10. (#27) Dro Fernández
  11. (#28) Roony Bardghji
  12. (#29) Toni Fernández

Injured Barça Players

  1. (#01, P) Marc-André ter Stegen
  2. (#06) Gavi
  3. (#08) Pedri
  4. (#11) Raphinha
  5. (#13, P) Joan García

Flick's Possible Surprises and Tactical Variations Against Celta

In principle, Hansi Flick plans to make a couple of adjustments to his XI from matchday 11 against Elche (3-1), with Pau Cubarsí back in the center of defense alongside Ronald Araujo. Furthermore, Eric García is set to play at right-back instead of Koundé. The Frenchman is doubtful due to a knock sustained against Bruges.

Goalkeeping and defense

  • Wojciech Szczesny will be in goal, while Eric García and Alejandro Balde would be the full-backs. In the center of defense, Ronald Araujo must partner Pau Cubarsí, with Jules Koundé nursing a minor injury. Jofre Torrents and Gerard Martín will also be available.

Midfield:

  • As a pivot, Marc Casadó is set to be Frenkie de Jong's partner in midfield, while Fermín would once again be the team's attacking midfielder. Dani Olmo should get minutes in the second half, as should Marc Bernal.

Forward:

  • In attack, Lamine Yamal and Marcus Rashford would complete the Blaugrana attack alongside Ferran Torres. The 'Shark' will remain in the XI after scoring against Elche and Bruges. Lewandowski, Dro, and Toni Fernández await minutes on the bench along with Roony Bardghji. Raphinha is still injured.

Barça Absences: Which players will miss the Celta clash due to injury?

INJURED: This is Barcelona's infirmary against Celta

A total of five Barça players will be confirmed absentees due to physical problems. The club has once again lost Raphinha before El Clásico, once the Brazilian's relapse from his right thigh injury was confirmed. In this regard, Rafa joins Pedri González as an offensive absence.The midfielder will be out for about a month with a left thigh injury. Joan García, for his part, underwent surgery to treat a left meniscus injury. The return of the Sallent native is scheduled for mid-November, along with Raphinha.

Gavi, on the other hand, underwent arthroscopy and, in the end, they had to operate on the medial meniscus of his right knee. Because of this, the '6' will be out for between four and five months, with February 2026 being the tentative date for his return. The latest absence is Ter Stegen, who will be out of action, at least, until the end of November or the beginning of December

Possible Celta lineup against Barcelona

  • Probable XI: Radu; Mingueza, Aidoo, Alonso, Starfelt, Carreira; Beltrán, Moriba; Zaragoza, Jutglà and Borja Iglesias.
  • Bench: Villar (GK), Javi Rodríguez, Arroyo, Damián Rodríguez, Pablo Durán, Ristic, El-Abdellaoui, Román, Sotelo, Aspas, Lago, Vidal, Antúnez, Mendoza.
  • Injured: Javi Rueda, Williot Swedberg, Hugo Álvarez and Carlos Domínguez.
  • Suspended: None.

For their part, Celta arrives at matchday 12 of LaLiga in very good form. Claudio Giráldez's team has won 5 consecutive matches across the league, cup, and Europa League, although they also have four players out due to injury, with Hugo Álvarez and Carlos Domínguez being the latest to join the Celta infirmary this week.

In principle, the Galician team will face Barça with Radu in goal and a three-man defense formed by Aidoo, Starfelt, and former Blaugrana defender Marcos Alonso. Also a former Barça youth player, Óscar Mingueza and Sergio Carreira will be the wing-backs, while Fran Beltrán and Ilaix Moriba will be in midfield.

Above, Bryan Zaragoza and Ferran Jutglà join the experienced Borja Iglesias. In total, Celta's XI would have four former Barça players, with Jutglà being the latest to join the team. The Catalan forward has scored 2 goals in 9 league matches so far.