Celta Vigo will be aiming to stretch their unbeaten run in La Liga to nine matches when the European hopefuls continue their campaign with a home fixture against Espanyol on Saturday evening.
The Sky Blues are currently seventh in the La Liga table, only five points off fifth-placed Villarreal, while Espanyol are 16th, four points clear of the relegation zone heading towards the final straight.
Match preview
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Celta are unbeaten in Spain's top flight since the start of February, winning five and drawing three of their last eight league matches, which has moved them up into seventh spot in the table.
Claudio Giraldez's side will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 success over Mallorca, and they are very much in European contention at this stage of the campaign, sitting just five points behind fifth-placed Villarreal.
The Sky Blues have largely been excellent on home soil this season, picking up 30 points from their 15 matches, recording nine wins in the process, and they have been an entertaining watch during the 2024-25 campaign.
Indeed, Celta have scored 44 times, which is the sixth-best attacking record, but they have also conceded 43, which is high considering their position in the table, and that might end up costing them a European spot.
The Vigo outfit have actually only won one of their last four league games against Espanyol, and they suffered a 3-1 defeat when the two teams locked horns for the reverse fixture earlier this season.
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Espanyol are also in strong form, losing just one of their last six in La Liga, and they have picked up four points from their last two matches, drawing at home to Atletico Madrid before winning 4-0 away to Rayo Vallecano last time out.
The Catalan outfit have a record of eight wins, eight draws and 13 defeats from their 29 league matches this season, with a total of 32 points leaving them in 16th spot in the table, four points clear of the relegation zone.
Manolo Gonzalez's side are still very much involved in a battle towards the bottom of the division, but their recent form is encouraging in terms of their survival hopes, and the four-goal success over Rayo last time out was a standout result.
Espanyol secured a return to La Liga via last season's Segunda Division playoffs, so any spot over 18th would be considered a successful campaign, with the team desperate to consolidate at this level of football once again.
Team News
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Celta had a full squad available for the clash with Mallorca last time out, and no fresh issues have been reported, so head coach Giraldez is set to have the same group to choose from this weekend.
Due to the nature of the performance, it is not impossible to imagine the same XI taking to the field, but Fer Lopez, Borja Iglesias and Williot Swedberg will certainly be in the manager's thinking when it comes to changes.
Lopez scored off the bench against Mallorca, and the Spaniard may now come into the side in place of Iago Aspas, with the experienced forward potentially dropping out of the starting XI.
As for Espanyol, Jose Gragera and Brian Olivan will once again miss the contest due to fitness problems.
No fresh issues have been reported this week, though, so it could be a case of same again from the four-goal success over Rayo, with Roberto Fernandez once again leading the line.
Javi Puado has been a standout performer for the Catalan side during the 2024-25 campaign, finding the back of the net on 10 occasions in Spain's top flight, and the 26-year-old will once again be in the XI.
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Guaita; J Rodriguez, Starfelt, Alonso, Mingueza; Carreira, Duran, Beltran, Moriba, Gonzalez; F Lopez
Espanyol possible starting lineup:
J Garcia; El Hilali, Kumbulla, Cabrera, Romero; Gonzalez, Lozano; Roca, Exposito, Puado; Fernandez
We say: Celta Vigo 2-1 Espanyol
Espanyol's recent form deserves praise, but Celta are in a brilliant place at the moment, and their home form has been excellent throughout the campaign - we are expecting a close match in terms of the scoreline, but Celta should be able to navigate their way to all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
