Van Gaal for the chop if Barca crash at Celta

For Barcelona coach Louis Van Gaal, the situation on Sunday is a simple one. If the Catalan club lose at Celta Vigo, he is likely to be out of a job within 24 hours.

Barca currently lie 10th and the prospect of finishing in the bottom half of the Spanish first division for the first time since 1942 looms ever larger.

Van Gaal has refused to talk to the media since last Saturday's 4-2 defeat by Valencia in the Nou Camp, which finished with Barca fans baying for his sacking and the resignation of club president Joan Gaspart.

The Barcelona players are still solidly - at least in public - behind their Dutch coach.

"I don't think it is the coach's fault that we are in this position," said Spanish international midfielder Xavi Hernandez on Thursday.

"I can understand the attitude of the supporters, after all we are 10th, but I can't condone it. The sort of things that have been said and done don't help anyone," added Xavi.

"It would be unfair to sack him (van Gaal)," said Dutch international striker Patrick Kluivert.

However poker rather than football is the game on most fans' minds at the Nou Camp this week.

And Gaspart may find he has no other alternative but to stick with van Gaal rather than have to pay off his lucrative contract and add to the club's heavy debts in the process.

In any case, potential replacements for van Gaal, as touted by the media, have spent the last few days counting themselves out of the reckoning for arguably the most arduous club job in world football.

"Barcelona is a club without a soul. Go to Barcelona? It would be like rushing in like a fireman trying to put out a fire," said Argentine World Cup-winning coach Cesar Luis Menotti, who knows from personal experience how hot it can get at the Barca helm.

Former Barcelona icon Bernd Schuster, now coach at Spanish second division side Xerez, said that he had neither the stamina nor the mental dexterity to coach at his old club.

"I've seen my name on the list of possible coaches but that's football. However nobody has talked to me about it. I'm the coach here and I'm happy," Schuster said on Thursday.

The Sword of Damacles has hung over van Gaal's head on many occasions, but rarely has it been closer to his scalp than it is now.

The one thing that will avoid him getting the chop immediately is some points in Vigo, and van Gaal has history on his side with Barcelona having won on 16 of their 32 league visits to the Galician city.

Celta, despite still being sixth, have begun to upset their own fans having lost their last three league matches. More worryingly, they haven't scored a goal yet this year.

Athletic Bilbao coach Jupp Heynckes is in a similar position to van Gaal, with fans and the media alike calling for his head only days before Sunday's visit of his old team Real Madrid, who have now gone 12 games without defeat and have moved up to second in the table.

Heynckes is aware that the pressure is on his struggling Basque team, who sit in 15th spot, but he remains optimistic, especially as Athletic beat Real in the Spanish Cup last year in their San Mames stadium.

"I'm actually very happy with the way we are playing but we do need to win. We've been conceding inexplicable and incomprehensible goals," said the German, who guided Real to the 1998 Champions League title.

One foreign coach secure in his job is Real Sociedad's French import Raynald Denoueix, whose team will defend their impressive unbeaten record at Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

The San Sebastian side lead the league with 40 points from 18 games, three ahead of Real Madrid, while Atletico are back in eighth with 25 points.

Denoueix will welcome back his young inspirational midfielder Xabi Alonso after a month's injury lay-off.

Sociedad however will be without Russian midfielder Valeri Karpin, who is out for the next three weeks after suffering a slight hamstring tear in midweek training.

Saturday:

Atletico Madrid vs. Real Sociedad

Sunday:

Real Betis vs. Villarreal
Espanyol vs. Deportivo La Coruna
Osasuna vs. Racing Santander
Recreativo Huelva vs. Rayo Vallecano
Valencia vs. Sevilla
Valladolid vs. Alaves
Malaga vs. Real Mallorca
Athletic Bilbao v Real Madrid
Celta Vigo vs. Barcelona