Barcelona center back Gerard Pique. (Photo : Getty Images)
Back-to-back La Liga champions FC Barcelona (4-2-1, 13 points) will look to go back to their top form as they host struggling team Deportivo La Coruna (2-3-2, 8 points) at the Camp Nou on Saturday, Oct. 15 as the 2016-2017 La Liga season resumes.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 10:15 a.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru FuboTV.
Barcelona suffered its second defeat just seven rounds into the new season by dropping a highly disappointing 3-4 match versus Celta Vigo at the Estadio Municipal de Balaídos on Oct. 2 before the international break, as per the Mirror.
Lionel Messi missed a third straight game for Barça as the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is still nursing an injured thigh and groin.
Head coach Luis Enrique featured Rafinha in his place at the right wing. The 23-year-old Brazilian performed decently but it is evident that he cannot 100 percent replace what the Argentinian brings to the table for the Catalonia residents.
Celta Vigo zoomed to a 3-0 lead in the first half with goals from Pione Sisto and Iago Aspas in the 22nd and 31st minutes before an own goal from Barcelona defender Jeremy Mathieu made it a three-goal lead at the 33rd.
Barça tried to fight back in the second half, cutting the lead to one with goals from Gerard Pique and Neymar in the 58th and 64th.
Os Célticos made it a two-goal lead once again after an error from Barcelona keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen that saw his attempted square ball bounce onto the forehead of Pablo Hernandez and back to his own net.
Pique netted his second goal of the game at the 87th to make it a more respectable score for the defending champions.
Meanwhile, Deportivo nipped Sporting Gijon, 2-1, at the Estadio Municipal de Riazor on Oct. 1 to snap a five-game winless spell, via SkySports.
Celso Borges and Ryan Babel netted one goal each for head coach Gaizka Garitano's men while Sergio Alvarez scored the lone goal for the visitors.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a 3-1 bounce back win for Barcelona.
Barcelona starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Mathieu, Alba; Gomes, Busquets, Turan; Rafinha, Suárez, Neymar
Deportivo La Coruna starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Lux; Juanfran, Albentosa, Sidnei, Navarro; Borges, Mosquera; Gama, Colak, Moreno; Andone
