Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo match preview and predictions for Saturday’s LaLiga match. Read on for the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as in-form Celta travel to the capital.
- DATE: Saturday 2nd January 2021
- KICK-OFF: 21:00 (local time)
- STADIUM: Alfredo Di Stefano
- COMPETITION: LaLiga
Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo Preview
Real Madrid kick off 2021 with a home game against in-form Celta Vigo in what could be the game of the opening round of fixtures of the new year in Spain. While they’ve had plenty of off-days this season, fans of Los Blancos will still head into the new year with hopes high of getting their hands on more silverware this calendar year, largely due to the problems at Camp Nou.
If there was any doubt before, the last round of fixtures appeared to confirm that it is Atletico Madrid and not Barcelona that Real need to be worrying about in terms of this season’s title race. Diego Simeone’s side have responded well to getting outplayed and defeated in the Madrid derby and were the only one of the ‘big three’ to win their midweek game.
Real Madrid’s winning streak came to an end against pre-season relegation favourites Elche, as yet again they slipped up in what was supposed to be an easier fixture. Zinedine Zidane took some flack for waiting until the 77th minute to make his first change despite having the likes of Eden Hazard, Martin Odegaard and Vinicius Junior on the bench and it’ll be interesting to see if he opts to rotate his team here.
This is most likely to be a tough game for Real Madrid against a Celta Vigo side that are in fine form under new boss Chacho Coudet. Since his appointment, the Galicians have collected 16 points, with 5 wins from their last 6 games. They are looking stronger all over the pitch and a 2-1 win over Huesca last time out ensured they continue to carry momentum into this game.
Suddenly the talk in Vigo is not of a third straight relegation battle but of a potential push for European football. That’s not unrealistic talk either if they continue to play like this and in Iago Aspas they certainly have somebody who could fire them there. Celta’s hometown hero is the form player in Spain right now with 6 goals and 6 assists in his last 9 games in LaLiga, either scoring or creating a goal in every one of those fixtures.
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Head to Head
- Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 4 Real Madrid Wins, 2 Draws.
- The most recent meeting ended 2-2 at the Bernabeu in February 2020.
- Real Madrid had won all of the previous 4 meetings.
- Celta’s last victory over Real Madrid came in the Copa del Rey in January 2017.
Team News
Zinedine Zidane may rotate after drawing against Elche and he does have the luxury of what is close to a fully fit squad with players returning in recent weeks. Sergio Ramos has been left out of the matchday squad.
Celta have stumbled on a winning formula under Coudet and have no fresh selection problems here.
Predicted Real Madrid Starting Lineup:
Courtois – Mendy, Varane, Militao, Carvajal – Kroos, Casemiro, Modric – Hazard, Benzema, Vazquez (4-3-3)
Predicted Celta Starting Lineup:
Blanco – Olaza, Murillo, Araujo, Mallo – Tapia – Nolito, Suarez, Mendez – Mina, Aspas (4-1-3-2)
Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo Predictions
Score Prediction: Real Madrid 2-2 Celta Vigo
Celta really are flying right now and they’ve got every reason to believe they can get a result here. Either way, we should see a few goals in this with Karim Benzema and Iago Aspas both on the pitch, two of the standout performers in LaLiga in 2020 and they’ll both be hungry to kick off the new year in style.
Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo Betting Tips (18+)
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