Celta Vigo vs Atl. Madrid prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2023-10-20 19:00.
Celta Vigo’s centenary season has been everything but a celebration on the pitch so far, with the home fans at Estadio de Balaídos in Vigo yet to be treated to a La Liga (LL) victory since conquering Barcelona in the final round of 2022/23 (D2, L3). Following a 2-2 draw at home to Getafe, they spent the international break 18th in the standings, and things aren’t likely to get any easier when they welcome Atlético Madrid before a trip to high-flying Girona.
A series of devastating injury setbacks – the latest of which was afflicted upon defender Joseph Aidoo who was seen on crutches after Ghana’s game against Mexico last week – has contributed to Celta Vigo matching their worst nine-game start to any league season this century. Manager Rafa Benítez will hope to improve on that here, while simultaneously trying to end a four-game H2H losing streak against Atlético.
Atlético were the only LL club to win each of their last four games prior to the international break, including high-profile scalps of Real Madrid (3-1) and Real Sociedad (2-1). That hasn’t stopped the perennial speculation about Diego Simeone’s future that inevitably comes with his lengthy time at the club, but Simeone’s focus has remained on securing positive results and he’ll have been boosted by the reintegration of the likes of Çağlar Söyüncü, Pablo Barrios and Ángel Correa, who are returning from injuries.
The away side’s disastrous trip to Valencia (L 3-0) in mid-September serves as a reminder of what can happen if standards slip, but that appears to now be behind them after a flurry of ten goals across those four league wins since, six of which were scored within the opening half-hour of the game. The opposing trio of Celta, Alavés and Las Palmas in their three upcoming games presents an outstanding opportunity on paper to climb further up the top four.
Players to watch: Celta’s Jørgen Strand Larsen has been doing his best to make an early impact, recording three first-half goals for his club this LL season. Antoine Griezmann has had plenty of reward in front of goal recently, with a matchwinner from the spot against Sociedad his fifth-straight winning goalscoring appearance across all competitions this season.
Hot streak: Celta Vigo’s last 28 LL home games all saw at least one goal scored.