Celta Vigo vs Villarreal

Estadio de Balaídos is the venue as relegation-battling Celta Vigo and top-four hopefuls Villarreal face each other in a high-stakes fixture.

Celta Vigo eked out a 1-0 win at dead-last Elche last time out to arrest a dreadful run of eight straight La Liga matches without winning (D3, L5) and move one point clear of the relegation zone. However, there’s no time for celebration, as they return to Balaidos, where they’ve alternated between drawing (2) and losing (2) across their last four league outings. With each of those four contests seeing both teams on the scoresheet, you’d be right to assume another end-to-end affair could be on the cards. Celta wouldn’t mind another action-packed encounter as long as it helps them defy an underwhelming ten-game La Liga form against Villarreal (W1, D4, L5). Since Carlos Carvalhal’s men come into proceedings unbeaten in three La Liga games (W1, D2) for the first time in almost a year, there’s a reason for enthusiasm.

On the other hand, visiting Villarreal stunned defending champions Real Madrid 2-1 last weekend, making it three La Liga victories on the trot for the first time since Unai Emery’s switch to Aston Villa. Despite winning only half of their top-flight fixtures in 2022/23 (W8, D3, L5), the visitors sit only one point adrift of fourth-placed Real Betis, so their hopes of securing another top-four finish are seemingly realistic. But Villarreal’s league victories over new boss Quique Setien have lacked conviction, with all three featuring a narrow one-goal margin. Setien wouldn’t mind another hard-earned win, aware of his side’s topsy-turvy record on their last four La Liga visits to Celta (W2, D1, L1).