Celta Vigo vs Atletico Madrid Predictions & Match Preview

Celta Vigo vs Atletico Madrid

Celta Vigo vs Atletico Madrid predictions and match preview for Sunday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as Diego Simeone’s side travel to Galicia.

DateSunday 12th February 2023
Kick-Off16:15 (CET)
StadiumBalaidos
CompetitionLaLiga

Celta Vigo vs Atletico Madrid Preview


Celta Vigo stadium
Balaidos via juantiagues, CC BY-SA 2.0

Atletico Madrid make the long trip to Galicia this weekend for a tricky looking fixture against an in-form Celta Vigo side. The hosts are looking to put distance between themselves and the bottom three while Atletico Madrid are pushing for Champions League qualification and hoping to make ground on their rivals.

Celta’s matches under Carlos Carvalhal had been low-scoring and at times uneventful heading into last weekend’s trip to the Benito Villamarin. Their previous 6 league games had seen just 7 goals scored in total but that number would be matched in a remarkable 90 minutes in Seville. Celta claimed a fine 4-3 win with a brace from youngster Gabri Veiga the decisive factor in a game which also saw Jorgen Strand Larsen score.

Remarkably Iago Aspas did not score or create any of Celta’s 4 goals but he did have a considerable role to play in the late red card of Betis defender Luiz Felipe, although Celta were already on the cusp of victory by that point. That win came on the back of another impressive success over Athletic Club and it’s just 1 defeat in 7 league games overall for Celta.

Despite Atletico Madrid’s poor season overall, their away record is actually not bad at all in LaLiga. They average 2 points per game on their travels with 6 league wins out of 10 away from the Metropolitano. They did well to win at Osasuna in their last road game but overall there is still something utterly unconvincing about this Atleti side.

The latest setback came last weekend when Enes Unal scored a late penalty to ensure Getafe left the Metropolitano with a point. Atleti have work to do to ensure they finish in the top four and while that should be by no means beyond them, it’s hard to find many positives right now in the red and white half of Madrid. With doubts over Diego Simeone’s future beyond this season, they are not even really in a position to build something to attack next season.


Team News & Possible Lineups


Celta

INJUREDMarchesin
DOUBTFUL
BANNEDUnai Núñez

Possible XI: Villar – Galan, Aidoo, Mingueza, Mallo – Beltran – De la Torre, Veiga, Perez – Aspas, Larsen (4-1-3-2)

Coach: Carlos Carvalhal

Atletico Madrid

INJUREDLlorente
DOUBTFUL
BANNED

Possible XI: Oblak – Reinildo, Hermoso, Savic, Molina – Lemar, Koke, De Paul – Griezmann, Morata, Llorente (4-3-3)

Coach: Diego Simeone


Score Prediction: Celta Vigo 1-1 Atletico Madrid


This is likely to be considerably tighter than Celta’s goalfest in Seville last time out. The Galicians are playing well though and prior to the Betis game had looked defensively quite robust so we might not see many chances in this one and a draw looks a very plausible outcome.


PLEASE NOTE – Our LaLiga predictions are not betting tips! No profits are guaranteed if you’re using them to bet on Spanish football. If you are gambling, do so responsibly and never stake more than you can afford to lose. BeGambleAware.

Spanish football writer
About Mark Sochon 1995 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