Celta Vigo vs Villarreal Predictions & Match Preview

Celta Vigo vs Villarreal predictions

Celta Vigo vs Villarreal predictions and match preview for Friday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as the Yellow Submarine travel to Galicia.

Date Friday 13th January 2023
Kick-Off 21:00 (CET)
Stadium Balaidos
Competition LaLiga

Celta Vigo vs Villarreal Preview


Celta Vigo stadium
Balaidos via juantiagues, CC BY-SA 2.0

Matchday 17 in LaLiga kicks off in Galicia with two teams who picked up really important wins last time out. Both Carlos Carvalhal and Quique Setien will be feeling much more positive as they continue to settle into new jobs and will be hoping to build some momentum with another good result here.

Celta Vigo would have found themselves in deep trouble and would have ended the matchday just one place off the bottom had they not won at basement boys Elche last Friday. Iago Aspas bundled home an early goal and without playing sparkling football, Celta dug deep and did enough to warrant the win, their first in LaLiga since appointing Carvalhal just before the World Cup.

The Portuguese coach has had an obvious impact in terms of their style of play. The switch to a back three has helped stem the flow of goals they were conceding with just one goal against in their last three league outings. They are also three unbeaten now with decent draws against Rayo and Sevilla prior to the Elche win.

This could be tougher than all of those games though with Villarreal now really starting to find their feet under Quique Setien. They’ve won six on the bounce in all competitions now and while three of those matches were against lowly opponents in the Copa del Rey, it still marks a real turnaround from the desperately poor early showings under Setien.

A 2-1 win at home to Real Madrid last weekend will go a long way to helping win over the supporters who were not convinced by his appointment. It was a really strong performance from the Yellow Submarine who won the game thanks to goals from Yeremy Pino and Gerard Moreno. Setien appears to have a fairly clear idea of his strongest side now too, with Samu Chukwueze completing the front three while Arnaut Danjuma is currently having to make do with a place on the bench, amidst talk of a Premier League move.


Team News & Possible Lineups


Celta Vigo

Possible XI: Marchesin – Galan, Nunez, Aidoo, Mingueza, Mallo – Cervi, Beltran, Veiga – Paciencia, Aspas (5-3-2)

Coach: Carlos Carvalhal

Villarreal

INJURED Lo Celso, Pedraza
DOUBTFUL Jackson
BANNED Albiol, Baena

Possible XI: Reina – Moreno, Torres, Mandi, Foyth – Parejo, Coquelin, Trigueros – Pino, Moreno, Chukwueze (4-3-3)

Coach: Quique Setien


Score Prediction: Celta Vigo 2-2 Villarreal


Celta matches have tended to be more conservative with fewer goals since the change in coach but it feels like this one has the potential to serve up a few. Villarreal will come in search of another win but they are hampered by the suspension of Raul Albiol which could leave them a bit more vulnerable to crosses into the box from Celta’s wing-backs while Iago Aspas always offers a goal threat. Villarreal are starting to tick in the final third though so we ought to see goals at both ends here with a draw perhaps the outcome.


PLEASE NOTE – Our LaLiga predictions are not betting tips! No profits are guaranteed if you’re using them to bet on Spanish football. If you are gambling, do so responsibly and never stake more than you can afford to lose. BeGambleAware.

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