Celta Vigo vs Real Madrid

Estadio de Balaidos is the venue as Celta Vigo and Real Madrid lock horns in a tasty-looking La Liga encounter.

Following a lacklustre 11th-place La Liga finish, Celta Vigo have opened their checkbook in the summer to add nine new faces to Eduardo Coudet’s team, including Oscar Mingueza, Carles Perez and Goncalo Paciencia. The latter was on the scoresheet on the opening weekend as ‘Los Celestes’ squandered a 2-0 lead in a dramatic 2-2 home draw with Espanyol. Despite a heartbreaking start to the season, the hosts can draw confidence from a decent home league form that has seen them suffer just one defeat in their last 11 La Liga home outings (W6, D3). Yet, one of those losses came at the hands of Real Madrid, a side they’ve failed to beat in any of their 16 top-flight H2Hs (D2, L14) since a 2-0 win in May 2014.

In the meantime, Real Madrid picked themselves up from an early 1-0 deficit at newly-promoted Almeria to register a 2-1 away win on matchday one and build on UEFA Super Cup success against Eintracht Frankfurt earlier in August. Another victory is on the cards as ‘Los Merengues’ have amassed a stunning 13 wins in their last 15 La Liga visits to Balaidos (D1, L1), including a 2-1 triumph in this corresponding fixture in 2021/22. However, there’s no room for complacency, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side seeking their first top-flight clean sheet away to Celta in ten matches! Topically, Madrid’s fragile backline has failed to register a shutout across their last seven league games on hostile turf, suggesting they could suffer in Vigo.