Preview: Espanyol vs. Celta Vigo – prediction, team news, lineups

Celta Vigo will aim to stretch their unbeaten run in all competitions to five games when they head to the RCDE Stadium on Saturday evening to tackle Espanyol in Spain’s top division.

The visitors are currently number 11 in the La Liga tablewith 18 points from their first 14 games of the season, while Espanyol are 19th and pick up just 10 points from their first 13 games.

Match preview

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Espanyol boast a record of three wins, one draw and nine defeats from their 13 league games this season, which has left them in 19th place in the table on 10 points, just one point ahead of basement Real Valladolid.

The Catalan side have struggled defensively this term, conceding 26 times, with only Real Valladolid (27) conceding more goals at this stage of the campaign, and the early signs are that they will be in a relegation battle this term .

Espanyol are on a four-game losing streak in Spain’s top flight, suffering defeats to Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla, Barcelona and Girona since beating Mallorca 2-1 at home at the start of October.

The white and blues secured promotion back to La Liga through the 2023-24 Segunda Division play-offs and have struggled to get going in the early stages of this season, losing seven of their last eight games in this level.

Espanyol come into this clash on the back of a 4-1 defeat at Girona, while they suffered a 2-0 loss to Sevilla in their last game in front of their own supporters at the end of October.

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Celta, meanwhile, will enter the competition on the back of a 2-2 draw against Barcelonaand it was an incredible comeback from the Sky Blues in the latter stages of their clash with the division leaders.

Claudio Giraldezs side were 2-0 down heading into the final exchanges, but Alfon Gonzalez halved the deficit in the 84th minute before Hugo Alvarez made it 2-2 less than two minutes later, with the points eventually shared.

Celta are unbeaten in their last four games in all competitions, including a 1-0 success over Getafe in La Liga, as they sit 11th in the table and pick up 18 points from their first 14 games.

The Sky Blues are just four points behind sixth-placed Osasuna, while they have been one of the most entertaining sides to watch in La Liga this term, scoring 22 times in their 14 games but also conceding 24.

Celta have lost just once to Espanyol in La Liga since September 2017 and they recorded a 3-1 win when the two sides last locked horns at the start of 2023.

Espanyol La Liga form:

Espanyol form (all competitions):

Celta Vigo La Liga form:

Celta Vigo form (all competitions):

Team news

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Espanyol will be without the services of three first-team players on Saturday due to injury, with Jose Gragera, Fernando Calero and Edu Exposito on the treatment table.

Javi Puado has been Espanyol’s most prolific player this season in terms of goals, finding the back of the net on five occasions, and the 26-year-old will once again be in the XI while the on-loan Tottenham Hotspur forward Alejo Veliz must lead the line.

However, head coach Gonzalez is expected to make a change in the midfield on Saturday as well Alvaro Aguado potentially introduced instead Rafael Bauza.

As for Celta, head coach Giraldez could name the same team that took to the pitch for the first whistle against Barcelona.

Alfon Gonzalez is pushing for a start after scoring off the bench against the league leaders, but it seems likely that Jonathan Bamba will continue down the left, with Hugo Alvarez on the opposite side.

Iago Aspas has been in impressive form this season, scoring four times and registering three assists in 13 La Liga games, and he will once again lead the line, but Jailson and Luca de la Torre will again miss out due to injury issues.

Espanyol’s possible starting line-up:
J Garcia; Tejero, El Hilali, S Gomez, Cabrera, Romero; Carreras, Aguado, Kral, Puado; Veliz

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Guita; J Rodriguez, Starfelt, Alonso, Mingueza; Alvarez, Beltran, Moriba, Bamba; Douvikas, Aspas

We say: Espanyol 1-2 Celta Vigo

Celta have won just once on their travels in La Liga this term, but the Sky Blues have so much talent in the final third of the field and we’re backing them to narrowly edge out an out-of-form Espanyol- clothing.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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