Eibar vs Celta Vigo Match Preview & Prediction

Eibar vs Celta Vigo predictions

Eibar vs Celta Vigo predictions and match preview for this Saturday’s game in LaLiga. Read on for the head-to-head, team news and predicted line ups as the new campaign kicks off at Ipurua.

  • DATE: Saturday 12th September 2020
  • KICK-OFF: 16:00 (local time)
  • VENUE: Ipurúa, Eibar

Eibar vs Celta Vigo Preview


Eibar match preview
Ipurua by Miguelazo84, CC BY-SA 4.0

Eibar take on Celta Vigo in what is now the first game of the new LaLiga season on Saturday afternoon. Granada’s clash with Athletic was set to kick the campaign off but that fixture has been moved back after the latest dispute between the RFEF and LaLiga. Instead all eyes will be on Ipurua as two of last season’s strugglers meet.

The hosts are now into their 7th year in the top flight and their 6th under the guidance of José Luis Mendilibar. 4 victories from their final 8 games last term helped secure survival but it was a more challenging campaign than some of their recent ones. Their task this season is made harder by the loss of some key players including Fabian Orellana who topped both their goal and assist charts last season.

Celta Vigo meanwhile had to wait until the final day to secure their safety in 2019/20. Even then, they couldn’t take care of their own business with a draw at bottom club Espanyol only enough to keep them up due to Leganes’ narrow failure to beat champions Real Madrid. Back-to-back 17th place finishes are not good enough for a Celta side that does boast some genuine quality, particularly in the final third, and they will be hungry to kick this season off on a more positive note.

Not a huge amount has changed in either camp since the end of last season in terms of new arrivals. Celta’s Peruvian international Renato Tapia is the only new boy likely to get a LaLiga debut here, although Nolito also technically goes down as a summer signing having arrived in June.

Polish winger Damian Kadzior is Eibar’s standout summer buy but Takashi Inui is expected to be preferred on the left wing here with the Basque minnows expected to go with their usual 4-4-2.

Season Previews: Eibar | Celta Vigo

Eibar vs Celta Vigo H2H

  • Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 2 Eibar Wins, 3 Celta Wins, 1 Draw.
  • 5 of the last 6 meetings between the clubs have been won by the side playing at home.
  • The exception was a 0-0 draw in Vigo last season.
  • Eibar have won 3 of their last 4 home league games against Celta, although the Galicians did win 4-0 here in 2017.

Predicted Line Ups

Eibar Team:

Dmitrovic – Soares, Bigas, Oliveira, Tejero – Inui, Exposito, Diop, Leon – Garcia, Enrich (4-4-2)

Celta Team:

Villar – Olaza, Araujo, Aidoo, Mallo – Beltran, Tapia – Nolito, Denis Suarez, Mendez – Aspas (4-2-3-1)


Eibar vs Celta Vigo Predictions


Score Prediction: 1-1 Draw

This has the making of a really tough season for Eibar and they need to make these kind of home games count, even from day one. A lack of genuine goal threats is a worry for them though with Orellana and Charles having both left. Celta have the potential to be much better than relegation strugglers but the suspicion that all is not quite right behind the scenes at Balaidos lives on and we’re not expecting a dramatic improvement in them. A draw looks the most likely outcome here.

Eibar vs Celta Vigo Betting Tips (18+)

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We will have match previews for every game in LaLiga again this season!


 

Spanish football writer
About Mark Sochon 1983 Articles
Mark is a freelance writer based in Madrid, writing mostly about Spanish football. His work has been published by the likes of Guardian Sport & World Soccer. Contact: marksochon (at) hotmail.co.uk