Barcelona coach Luis Enrique says he hopes last week's painful clasico defeat is just a minor setback on the road to success this season.
Barca went into last weekend's first meeting of the season with Real Madrid clear at the top of the table, having not conceded during the first eight weeks of the season.
However, the 3-1 defeat at the Bernabeu, and especially the nature of Barca's second-half capitulation, has led to much soul-searching among Blaugrana fans and pundits.
It has also tightened things at the top of the Liga standings, with five sides, including Real and defending champions Atletico Madrid, within two points of Enrique's men.
Luis Enrique told Friday's pregame news conference that he had stressed to his squad that all seasons featured setbacks, and champions were teams who were able to overcome them.
"It has not been hard for me to lift the team's spirits," he said. "These types of defeats hurt, but we all know that during the season we will pass through moments like this. There are always good moments and bad moments.
"Defeats are always painful, but you cannot always live on a rollercoaster. There is no sense in thinking you must speed up because you have lost. The champion knows how to come through moments of difficulty, so we try and keep everything in perspective."
The game also brings Enrique up against his former side Celta, who he guided to an impressive ninth-place finish last year during his one season in charge at Balaidos.
Successor Eduardo "Toto" Berizzo has had an even better start to his reign, with the Galician side currently sixth in the table and unbeaten away from home all season.
"Without doubt, this is a special day," Enrique said. "I know the majority of the players and it has been strange for me to prepare this game, it has not been easy. They are a hard-working team, who look to have possession of the ball and to press you. I am delighted that they are having such a spectacular season."
It should also be a big day for Luis Suarez, who is set to make his competitive Camp Nou debut for Barca, again playing on the right of a three-pronged attack alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar.
"[Suarez] seems to be the same as other weeks, training at the same rhythm as his teammates," Enrique said. "He is a great reinforcement for the team. That the forwards go wide is one possibility; that they come inside is another.
"We will see them on the wings at times, including when Leo drops deep, or see them more central. The model does not change because one player or another comes in. The idea is to be unpredictable, to make it difficult for teams who sit back against us."
The likely make-up of the midfield and defence is more difficult to predict, although playmaker Andres Iniesta is definitely missing with a calf muscle injury.
Enrique said that neither an apparent disagreement with defender Jeremy Mathieu over playing left-back in the clasico nor speculation in Catalan daily newspaper Sport that Gerard Pique could be the subject of bids from Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City during the January transfer window were in his thoughts ahead of the Celta game.
"Any player in the Barca squad has to be ready to take on these types of situations, whether they are commentaries about their performance or possible transfers," he added. "I have nothing to say about these or other things like this."