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

The visitors will enter the contest off the back of a 3-0 success over Rayo Vallecano, while Espanyol were beaten 3-1 by Real Madrid at Bernabeu in their last fixture in Spain's top flight.

Match preview

Espanyol actually took the lead against Real Madrid last weekend, with Joselu making the breakthrough in the eighth minute of the contest, but Los Blancos then went on to score three unanswered goals through Vinicius Junior, Eder Militao and Marco Asensio to secure all three points.

The Catalan outfit have won six, drawn nine and lost 10 of their 25 league matches this season to collect 27 points, which has left them in 15th position in the table, just one point outside of the relegation zone.

Espanyol finished 14th in La Liga last season on their return to the top flight, and they will certainly be wary of dropping back into the second tier, which occurred in 2020.

Diego Martinez's side actually have the second-worst home record in La Liga this season, picking up just 13 points from 12 matches, which will not leave their fans with too much confidence ahead of this match.

The White and Blues have already beaten Celta at RCDE Stadium this year, though, recording a 3-1 victory in the Copa del Rey at the start of January.

Celta, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a hugely impressive 3-0 success over Rayo last weekend, with Iago Aspas scoring twice for the Sky Blues in Vigo.

The result moved Carlos Carvalhal's side into 11th position in the table, now five points clear of the relegation zone, while they are actually only three points off the top eight.

Celta will certainly have their eyes on a top-half finish at this stage of the campaign, and they are in good form, going unbeaten in their last four league matches, winning two of their last three against Real Valladolid and Rayo, while the Vigo outfit have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three matches.

The Sky Blues have finished eighth and 11th in their last two campaigns, and they have now been present in Spain's top flight for every campaign since 2011-12.

Celta have won three, drawn three and lost six of their 12 away league matches this season, picking up 12 points in the process, which is the 11th-best away record in the division.

Espanyol La Liga form:

D

L

W

W

L

L

Celta Vigo La Liga form:

W

L

D

W

D

W

Team News

Espanyol will again be missing Gori, Keidi Bare and Adria Pedrosa for this weekend's contest through injury, while a late check will need to be made on Ronael Pierre-Gabriel following his injury against Real Madrid.

Head coach Martinez will have been pleased with many aspects of the performance at Bernabeu, so there are not expected to be many alterations for this weekend's contest.

Perhaps the only change could come on the right, where Javi Puado is pushing to be involved from the first whistle, although Denis Suarez is also battling for a role in midfield.

As for Celta, Oscar Rodriguez's booking off the bench against Rayo last time out means that the Spaniard is suspended for this weekend's contest.

Hugo Mallo and Renato Tapia are available after serving bans of their own, but Oscar Mingueza and Agustin Marchesin remain on the sidelines through injury.

Head coach Carvalhal could decide to name the same side that took to the field for the first whistle against Rayo, with Haris Seferovic joining Aspas in the final third of the field.

Espanyol possible starting lineup:

Pacheco; Gil, Montes, S Gomez, Cabrera; Puado, Vinicius, Gragera, Darder; Braithwaite, Joselu

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:

Villar; Vazquez, Aidoo, Nunez, Galan; Perez, Beltran, Veiga, De la Torre; Seferovic, Aspas

We say: Espanyol 2-2 Celta Vigo

Incredibly, six of the last eight La Liga meetings between these two sides have finished level, and we are finding it difficult to separate them once again here. Espanyol have drawn a third of their home league games this season, and we are expecting the points to be shared once again on Saturday.

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