Celta Vigo vs Real Madrid
Real Madrid will look to secure this season’s La Liga title as quick as possible starting this weekend when they visit Galicia to take on Celta Vigo.
Los Blancos have built a sizeable lead in the La Liga standings as they’re on top with 66 points, which is at least nine points over second-placed Sevilla. However, their recent defeat against Barcelona at El Clasico has halted their title procession momentarily.
They have gone back to the drawing board and now they’ll look to bounce back against Celta Vigo, who are at 11th with 36 points.
The pre-match SBOTOP betting odds see this as another ho-hum victory for Los Blancos especially with Los Celestes’ patchy form.
Another victory would certainly give Real Madrid a huge boost ahead of these next few weeks especially with Carlo Ancelotti out due to COVID-19, but can Celta Vigo put up some resistance against their visitors?
Talking Points
Celta Vigo will be short up front
Los Celestes just couldn’t catch a break as they’re unable to overcome their inconsistencies and they’re dealt with a bad hand ahead of this contest.
Celta Vigo – who are one of the league’s lowest scoring teams – are likely going to miss second-leading scorer Santi Mina with seven goals and three assists this season.
The 26-year-old will be attending a court hearing this week instead of playing football because he has been accused of sexual assault. To make matters worse, he could face a prison sentence of eight years maximum if he’s deemed guilty.
Eduardo Coudet and co. are awaiting the result of the trial, but they must assume that they’ll be without him for the time being as they’ll continue to push for a chance to contend for a spot in Europe.
With Mina unavailable, more attacking responsibilities will fall on Iago Aspas’ shoulders. The 34-year-old is their leading scorer with 13 goals and four assists, and he’ll be joined up front by Brais Mendez and Franco Cervi.
Real Madrid boosted by Karim Benzema’s return
Real Madrid are keen to return to winning ways after suffering a 4-0 beating at the hands of Barcelona in order to maintain their lead over everyone in the La Liga title race.
A key reason why Los Blancos were outgunned is because they were without their talisman Karim Benzema due to a calf strain he picked up during their 3-0 victory against Mallorca in the week prior.
Karim Benzema along with fellow Frenchman Ferland Mendy – who was also out due to a knock – were both seen at their training ground in Valdebebas recently, which is good news for the squad.
Expect Benzema to link up with Vinicius Junior anew, who is fresh from international duty recently. Benzema and Junior have formed great chemistry this season as they’ve tallied 46 goals and 22 assists and we expect more La Liga 2022 highlights from them this weekend.
History
Celta Vigo have a horrible La Liga record against Real Madrid. Los Celestes are winless in their last 15 (L13, D2) and they’ve conceded an average of 3.5 goals per game since 2014.
Los Celestes have won five consecutive home games against Los Blancos from 1997 to 2001. But since then, Los Blancos have lost just one of their last 14 away matches against them in the league (W12, D1, L1).
In terms of recent form, Real Madrid still have the upper hand as they’ve won four of their last five while Celta Vigo have only won once in their last six (L2, D3).
Their meeting last September ended in a 5-2 result for Real Madrid. Santi Mina drew first blood and Franco Cervi scored also for Celta Vigo, but a hat-trick from Karim Benzema and goals from Vinicius Junior and Eduardo Camavinga proved to be the difference.
Betting Tip
Real Madrid are unsurprisingly the favoured side for this contest. The La Liga 2022 odds have them at 1.95 to win, while Celta Vigo are priced at 3.70 and a draw is at 3.50 in the 1X2 market.
There’s a reason why Real Madrid are the league leaders and Celta Vigo are not. And given that they’ve been the better team quality-wise, anything less than a victory should be considered as a disappointment for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
With how their previous encounter went along with the return of Karim Benzema, Real Madrid are likely to pour in the goals and Celta Vigo can add some too – making Over 2.25 @ 1.71 another great betting option.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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