Sports Mole previews Saturday’s La Liga clash between Las Palmas and Celta Vigo, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Las Palmas‘ search for their first win of the 2024-25 La Liga campaign will continue on Saturday evening, when they welcome Celta Vigo to Estadio Gran Canaria.
The hosts are currently rock bottom of the La Liga table, having only picked up three points from their opening eight matches, while Celta are 10th, having collected 10 points from their first eight games.
Match preview
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There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a tough start to the season for Las Palmas, with the team drawing three and losing five of their eight matches to collect three points, which has left them in 20th position.
Pio Pio finished 16th in Spain’s top flight last term, and they are enjoying their best run at this level since 2018, but the early indications are that this will be a difficult campaign.
Luis Carrion‘s side actually drew two of their first three matches of the season, but they have lost four of their last five, including a 3-1 reverse to Villarreal last weekend.
Las Palmas have only been victorious in one of their last six La Liga matches against Celta, but that 2-1 success came in the corresponding fixture during the 2023-24 campaign, so they will be aiming to make it back-to-back home successes over the Sky Blues in Saturday’s intriguing contest at Estadio Gran Canaria.
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Celta, meanwhile, boast a record of three wins, one draw and four defeats from their first eight matches of the season to sit in 10th position, seven points above their opponents this weekend.
Claudio Giraldez‘s side actually won their opening two league games of the season against Alaves and Valencia, but they have only managed to record one victory since and have just one point from their last three matches.
The Sky Blues suffered successive losses to Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid before drawing 1-1 with Girona last time out, and the visitors will now be aiming to build on that result.
Celta have not been absent since Spain’s top flight since 2012, claiming 13th-placed finishes in their last two campaigns, with their last top-half finish proving to be eighth in 2020-21.
Giraldez’s side could move as high as eighth heading into the international break with a win here, depending on other results, which would certainly mark a successful start to the campaign.
Las Palmas La Liga form:
Celta Vigo La Liga form:
Team News
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Las Palmas will be without the services of five players through injury on Saturday, with Sandro Ramirez, Jasper Cillessen, Mika Marmol, Marvin Park and Scott McKenna all unavailable for selection.
Carrion’s side did not pick up any fresh issues against Villarreal, and the head coach is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack, with Oli McBurnie expected to continue in the final third of the field.
McBurnie is still searching for his first goal since arriving at the club from Sheffield United, but the 28-year-old could again operate alongside Fabio Silva in the final third of the field.
As for Celta, Jonathan Bamba, Mihailo Ristic and Luca de la Torre remain on the sidelines through injury, but the Sky Blues have not reported any further issues ahead of this contest.
Head coach Giraldez could select the same XI that took to the field for the first whistle against Girona, but it does seem likely that Iago Aspas will be brought back into the side in a forward area.
Aspas has made a strong start to the season, scoring four times in Spain’s top flight, and the 37-year-old is expected to replace Pablo Duran in the starting side this weekend.
Las Palmas possible starting lineup:
Horkas; Suarez, Herzog, Munoz, B Ramirez; Januzaj, Essugo, K Rodriguez, Moleiro; McBurnie, Silva
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Guaita; J Rodriguez, Dominguez, Alonso; Carreira, Moriba, D Rodriguez, Mingueza; Aspas, Iglesias, Gonzalez
We say: Las Palmas 1-1 Celta Vigo
There has not been a La Liga draw between these two sides since October 2016, but we can see the points being shared on Saturday. Las Palmas are better than what they have shown this season, and a tight match could finish all square.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.