Espanyol vs Celta Vigo prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2023-03-17 17:30.
With the relegation zone in the rear-view mirror, Espanyol will want to correct back-to-back losses sooner rather than later if they’re to avoid getting dragged into the bottom three. Diego MartĂnez’s men have thus far avoided losing three successive games this season, and will be confident of keeping that streak going when hosting Celta Vigo, having lost only one of the last 11 H2H encounters (W3, D7).
The majority of those matches being drawn mirrors the Parakeets’ LL season overall, as they’ve recorded a joint-league high nine stalemates prior to the weekend, including a 2-2 draw against Celta in the reverse fixture. They’ve gotten used to sharing the stage in other ways too, after 18 of their league matches this season have seen both teams score, a league high tally they share with Girona before this weekend's action.
Contrary to their hosts, Celta are in fine form after suffering a solitary loss in their last seven matches (W4, D2) culminating in a convincing 3-0 win over Rayo Vallecano. Manager Carlos Carvalhal’s side seem to be firing on all cylinders having also kept three consecutive clean sheets, which has propelled them up into a mid-table berth.
The Sky Blues have seen blue skies when hitting the road recently too, losing only one of their last six away league assignments (W2, D3). They couldn’t replicate that form when losing their Copa del Rey tie away to Espanyol earlier this month however, contributing to a miserable record of just one win across their last 14 trips to the RCDE Stadium (D3, L10).
Players to watch: Joselu opened his account for Espanyol with a 98th-minute equaliser against his former club Celta on the opening matchday, contributing to nine of his 13 goals this season arriving after half-time. As for Celta, top-scorer Iago Aspas etched his name into the history books with his brace versus Rayo, becoming the only player to net double-digit LL hauls in each of the last eight seasons!
Hot stat: Espanyol have led at half-time only once this entire LL season, a joint-low among Europe’s top-five leagues.