Sports Mole previews Thursday’s La Liga clash between Celta Vigo and Atletico Madrid, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Atletico Madrid will look to extend their unbeaten start to the season when they travel to Balaidos for Thursday’s meeting with Celta Vigo.
Atleti enter matchday seven in fourth spot in the standings, while the visitors are three points away in ninth position.
Match preview
© Imago
Celta have experienced contrasting fortunes in their home and away matches this season, having won all three of their matches at Balaidos while losing all three games on the road.
Claudio Giraldez kicked off his first full season as Celta boss with back-to-back wins over Alaves and Valencia before seeing his side fall to consecutive defeats against Villarreal and Osasuna.
Los Celestes bounced back with a 3-1 home win over Real Valladolid, but they came out the wrong side of the same scoreline in Sunday’s clash with Athletic Bilbao at San Mames where Iago Apas’s first-half penalty proved to be a mere consolation.
Having netted 14 goals, Celta are the league’s third-highest scorers behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, but their attacking philosophy has ultimately made them vulnerable at the opposite end of the pitch, conceding 13 goals to leave them with the second-worst defensive record.
While they may have a shaky backline, Los Celestes will fancy their chances of taking something from Thursday’s contest after avoiding defeat in each of their last nine home league games (W7, D2) since losing to Barcelona in February.
With that said, Celta have struggled in recent meetings with Atleti, having failed to win any of their last 11 head-to-head matches (W8, D3).
Atletico have proven to be a tough team to beat in the opening stages of the 2024-25 season, with their opening seven competitive matches producing four wins and three draws.
Although they are one of three teams yet to lose in La Liga this season, Atletico will be frustrated to have dropped points in three games, particularly in a goalless affair against Espanyol and Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Rayo Vallecano.
Atleti made the short trip to Vallecas in a confident mood after claiming three consecutive victories, including a dramatic win in their Champions League home clash with RB Leipzig.
However, their mood took a turn for the worse when Rayo’s Isi Palazon opened the scoring in the first half, and while Conor Gallagher pulled a goal back in the 50th minute, Atleti were unable to find the elusive winner, ensuring they finished the weekend six points adrift of leaders Barcelona.
Diego Simeone will be desperate for his team to avoid any more slip-ups on Thursday, especially as he will want his side to build momentum ahead of Sunday’s highly-anticipated derby clash with Real Madrid at the Civitas Metropolitano.
The Colchoneros will certainly take confidence from the fact they have won each of their previous six matches against Celta, including a 3-0 win in last season’s trip to Balaidos.
Celta Vigo La Liga form:
Atletico Madrid La Liga form:
Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):
Team News
Celta’s Mihailo Ristic and Luca de la Torre remain sidelined with calf and ankle injuries respectively, while Oscar Mingueza is ruled out after he picked up a muscle injury against Athletic.
With Mingueza unavailable for selection, Giraldez is set to move Hugo Alvarez over to right wing-back and bring Marcos Alonso into the side to feature on the left flank.
The Celta boss could make further changes in a bid to freshen up his side, with Fran Beltran, Ilaix Moriba and Williot Swedberg in contention to start.
Borja Iglesias is also in line for a starting spot, with the striker looking to add to the three goals he has already scored this season.
As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon experienced defender Cesar Azpilicueta, who sustained a muscle injury in the draw with Rayo.
Thomas Lemar and Pablo Barrios are also doubts due to their respective physical issues, while Rodrigo De Paul should be fit to feature in the squad after sitting out Sunday’s contest.
Atletico’s talisman Antoine Griezmann was rotated out of the squad at the weekend, but the attacker is expected to return to the side for the upcoming away fixture.
Robin Le Normand, Jose Maria Gimenez and Rodrigo Riquelme could also be brought into Simeone’s starting lineup.
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Guaita; J. Rodriguez, Starfelt, Jailson; Alvarez, Beltran, Moriba, Alonso; Aspas, Swedberg, Iglesias
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Llorente, Le Normand, Gimenez, Reinildo, Lino; Gallagher, Koke, Riquelme; Griezmann, Sorloth
We say: Celta Vigo 1-2 Atletico Madrid
Celta may be unbeaten in nine consecutive home matches, but they do tend to struggle in meetings with Atletico, and we think the visitors will ultimately have the extra quality required to edge out their hosts and clinch a seventh successive head-to-head victory.
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