Celta Vigo will kick off their preparations for the 2023-24 campaign with a pre-season friendly against Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr on Monday night.
The Sky Blues secured another season of La Liga football by finishing 13th in Spain's top flight last term, while Al-Nassr finished second in the Saudi Pro League behind champions Al-Ittihad.
Match preview
© Reuters
There will be a new face in the Celta dugout for the 2023-24 campaign, with Rafael Benitez being appointed head coach of the Sky Blues; the Spaniard has replaced Carlos Carvalhal at the helm, and he will be bidding to improve on last season's 13th-placed finish in Spain's top flight.
Celta were only actually three points clear of the relegation zone last season, and the supporters will be looking for more from their side in the coming campaign.
The Vigo-based outfit have already made two signings this summer, bringing in Carles Perez on a permanent basis from Roma, while Manu Sanchez has joined on a free transfer from Atletico Madrid.
There is expected to be more movement in the coming weeks, with Celta building towards their 2023-24 La Liga opener at home to Osasuna on August 13.
The Spanish outfit, who recorded a 2-1 victory over champions Barcelona on the final weekend of last season, will also take on Benfica and Lyon in friendlies this summer.
© Reuters
Al-Nassr, meanwhile, have already played two friendlies since ending their Saudi Pro League campaign at the end of May with a 3-0 victory over Al-Fateh, beating Alverca and Farense.
The Saudi Arabian side also have a new manager in place, with Luis Castro replacing the dismissed Rudi Garcia, and the 61-year-old will be tasked with overseeing a strong title challenge in the coming season.
Al-Nassr won three of their final four league matches of last season, but it was not enough for them to land the title, ultimately finishing second in the table, five points behind Al-Ittihad.
There will be more eyes on the Saudi Pro League in the coming campaign due to the number of high-profile players that have arrived during the summer market.
Marcelo Brozovic has moved to Al-Nassr this summer to join a certain Cristiano Ronaldo, who arrived in January, and there are expected to be more incomings, providing that the club pay the money owed to Leicester City for Ahmed Musa, which has seen them hit with a temporary transfer ban by FIFA.
Team News
© Reuters
Celta head coach Benitez will want to have a good look at his squad over the next couple of weeks to determine which players will be in his plans for the 2023-24 campaign.
Perez should make his unofficial second debut for the Sky Blues in this match, having seen his loan move become a permanent switch, while Sanchez should also feature for the club for the first time.
There are expected to be a number of familiar faces in the starting side, including Iago Aspas, while Oscar Mingueza and Fran Beltran should also be among those to start.
As for Al-Nassr, Ronaldo and Brozovic were both in the stands for their side's 5-1 win over Farense in Portugal on Friday night, but the pair could potentially be involved in this match.
Ronaldo is currently continuing a training programme which has been agreed with the club, with the forward only just returning to training due to his international commitments last month.
The visitors will definitely be without the services of experienced goalkeeper David Ospina, though, with the Colombian currently recovering from injury.
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Blanco; Vazquez, Nunez, Aidoo, Mingueza; Beltran, Tapia; Perez, Cervi, Larsen; Aspas
Al-Nassr possible starting lineup:
Al-Aqidi; Al-Ghannam, Al-Amri, Gonzalez, Lajami; Al-Sulaiheem, Al-Naji, Yahya, Al-Khaibari; Maran, Ghareeb
We say: Celta Vigo 2-2 Al-Nassr
Both teams will be hoping for a competitive fixture on Monday, and we are expecting that to be the case. Al-Nassr are ahead of Celta in terms of their preparations for the new season, but the La Liga outfit should have a strong team on display, and we are predicting an entertaining draw here.
No Data Analysis info
Matt Law
