Preview: Atletico Madrid vs. Celta Vigo - prediction, team news, lineups

Diego Simeone's side will enter the match off the back of a 2-1 victory over Porto in the Champions League, while Celta were 3-0 winners over Cadiz in La Liga last time out.

Match preview

Atletico were actually goalless with Porto heading into stoppage time on Wednesday night, but Mario Hermoso scored for Simeone's side in the 91st minute to seemingly secure all three points.

Porto hit back in the sixth minute of added time from the penalty spot, but Antoine Griezmann then came up with what proved to be the winner in the 11th minute of added time at the end of the 90, with the capital giants claiming all three points in their Champions League opener in spectacular fashion.

Atletico have collected seven points from their first four matches of the La Liga season, meanwhile, to sit seventh in the table heading into the next set of fixtures.

The Red and Whites were 1-0 winners at Valencia at the end of August but were held to a 1-1 draw by Real Sociedad last weekend, with Umar Sadiq cancelling out an early effort from Alvaro Morata.

Atletico did a league double over Celta last season, including a 2-0 victory at Wanda Metropolitano, while they are unbeaten against the Sky Blues in Spain's top flight since September 2018, which is an indication of the size of the task facing the visitors on Saturday night.

Celta, meanwhile, only took one point from their first two league games of the season, drawing with Espanyol before losing 4-1 at home to Real Madrid one week later.

Eduardo Coudet's side have been victorious in their last two, though, recording a 1-0 win over Girona on August 26 before beating Cadiz 3-0 last time out, and Iago Aspas has made an impressive start to the campaign, finding the back of the net on five occasions in four appearances.

Celta have finished eighth and 11th in their last two seasons at this level, and it is not impossible to imagine them pushing for a possible top-seven finish this term.

The Sky Blues finished sixth in 2015-16, but they will need Aspas to enjoy another strong campaign, while the likes of Carles Perez and Goncalo Paciencia will also need to contribute in terms of goals.

Celta, as mentioned, have found it difficult to secure positive results against Atletico in recent seasons, but they did manage to claim a point at Wanda Metropolitano in February 2021.

Atletico Madrid La Liga form:

Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):

Celta Vigo La Liga form:

Team News

Atletico will again be missing Matheus Cunha, Sergio Reguilon and Stefan Savic on Saturday through injury, while Nahuel Molina is again unavailable for selection through suspension.

Griezmann is not being considered for starts at the moment, allegedly due to a clause that exists in his contract, with the Red and Whites committed to buying him from Barcelona for around £35m next summer if he appears in at least 45 minutes of 14 of Atletico's matches this term.

As a result, Joao Felix and Morata should continue as the front two, but there could be changes from the side that started against Porto, with Thomas Lemar and Rodrigo De Paul potentially coming into the side.

As for Celta, Denis Suarez remains unavailable for selection through injury, while Paciencia will be out until the middle of next month due to a hamstring problem.

Due to the nature of the team's performance and result against Cadiz, it would not be a surprise to see Coudet send the same starting XI onto the field.

Perez is set to continue alongside Aspas in the final third of the field, while Oscar Mingueza might have to again wait for a start, with the defender set to feature on the bench alongside the likes of Gabri Veiga and Jorgen Strand Larsen.

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Reinildo, Witsel, Gimenez; Llorente, Lemar, Koke, De Paul, Carrasco; Morata, Felix

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:

Marchesin; Mallo, Aidoo, Nunez, Galan; Tapia; Cervi, Beltran, Rodriguez; Perez, Aspas

We say: Atletico Madrid 2-1 Celta Vigo

Celta will be the fresher of the two teams heading into this match, and the visitors are certainly capable of picking up a positive result on Saturday. It is hard to back against Atletico in front of their own supporters, though, and we are expecting Simeone's side to collect all three points with a narrow win.

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