Celta Vigo vs Espanyol

Estadio de Balaidos is the venue as bottom-half Celta Vigo take on mid-table Espanyol in an intriguing La Liga match-up.

Celta Vigo squeezed past a lower-league outfit Andorra via extra-time victory in midweek Copa del Rey action to maintain a noticeable upturn in form. The hosts have not lost just one of their last eight matches in all competitions (W2, D5, L1 – 90 mins only). However, ‘Los Celesters’ have picked up just one triumph from their last nine La Liga outings (D4, L4), with 66% of those fixtures seeing one or both sides failing to get on the scoresheet. A return to Balaidos is unlikely to help Celta’s hopes of launching a winning streak, as they’ve only won one of their nine La Liga home games this season (D2, L6), netting a measly average of 0.88 goals per match in the process. Celta’s home action usually sparks into life after half-time, with seven (87.5%) of their La Liga home goals scored so far this term coming in the second half of play.

In the meantime, Espanyol turned a 1-0 HT deficit into a 2-1 win over a lower-division side Palencia in Copa del Rey midweek, meaning they’ve won four of their last five competitive fixtures. But the ‘Periquitos’ have blown hot and cold in La Liga of late, alternating between winning and losing across their last six league outings (W3, L3). Since four of their six matches won/lost in that sequence saw the winner on the day keep a clean sheet, scoring first would optimize Espanyol’s hopes of winning here. Worryingly, though, the visitors have gone winless in their last 17 La Liga games on the road (D5, L12) since beating Villarreal 2-1 in January 2020. Having lost five of six La Liga matches when conceding first this season (D1), Espanyol will aim for a strong start here.