Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino is hoping to avoid a case of ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show’ when his side go to lowly Celta Vigo tonight looking to build on their victory over bitter rivals Real Madrid.

Unbeaten Barca made it nine wins in ten Primera Liga matches this season after downing Madrid 2-1 on Saturday in the first Clasico of the season, a victory that kept them a point clear of Atletico Madrid at the summit.

Now the reigning Spanish champions will look to add another three-point haul from their trip to Celta, although Martino knows the dangers facing his side.

The Argentinian, whose team have drawn their last two away matches, 0-0 at Osasuna and 1-1 at Milan, told reporters: “It’s always dangerous after a Clasico. There’s no room to get comfortable.”

Martino did admit, though, that the morale in the Barca camp was sky-high ahead of their trip to north-west Spain.

“It’s clear that winning a Clasico always gives a big psychological boost. The mood in the squad couldn’t be better,” he said.

Celta’s confidence also received a welcome lift at the weekend as they claimed a shock 5-0 away victory over Malaga to climb out of the relegation zone.

Celta had taken just two points from their previous seven league games prior to that and coach Luis Enrique is hoping they can follow it up with another good result against his former club Barca.

“I won’t sign for a draw now. It would be a great result, but we will go into the game with a winning mentality. Our opponents are very strong, but football is a sport which can surprise you,” he said.

Wounded Malaga, on a three-match losing streak, are also in action tonight as they go to Espanyol.

There are four matches tomorrow, including Real Madrid’s home match with improving Sevilla.

The Andalusian side are unbeaten in their last seven competitive outings and president Jose Maria del Nido wants that run to continue at the Bernabeu.

He said: “Going to Real Madrid’s ground is always difficult but Sevilla won’t stop going for the points at any ground in Spain.”

Programme
Today: 20.00 Espanyol vs Malaga. 22.00 Celta Vigo vs Barcelona.
Tomorrow: 20.00 Valencia vs Almeria; Valladolid vs R. Sociedad. 22.00 Osasuna vs R. Vallecano; Real Madrid vs Sevilla.
Thursday: 20.00 Granada vs A. Madrid; Villarreal vs Getafe. 22.00 A. Bilbao vs Elche; R. Betis vs Levante.