Espanyol vs Celta Vigo prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2024-11-29 17:30.
[p]Espanyol found themselves in 12th position in La Liga immediately after a 2-1 win over Mallorca in round nine, but with four successive league defeats to follow, came into this round only one point and one place above bottom of the table Real Valladolid. They have now suffered defeat in seven of their last eight (W1) La Liga games, with their most recent setback coming in a Catalan derby away at Girona last Saturday when they were 4-0 down after 27 minutes![/p]
[p]There was further bad news to share immediately after that result when it was announced that midfielder José Gragera would miss the next three months due to surgery on his big toe. It all adds up to a pretty miserable picture for fans of the Parakeets, although they should take some encouragement from their team picking up nine of their ten La Liga points this season here at the RCDE Stadium.[/p]
[p]Travelling from west to east Spain for this fixture, 11th-placed Celta Vigo bring with them an impressive H2H record against Espanyol that includes only two defeats (W5, D8) from the last 15 top flight meetings. That includes a 3-1 victory on their last visit in March 2023 and the Galicians will be looking to make history on Saturday as they have never won consecutive away matches against Espanyol in La Liga.[/p]
[p]Los Celestes have drawn their last two games 2-2, which includes conceding a late equaliser away to Real Betis in round 13. However, Claudio Giráldez saw his side come from 2-0 down in the 83rd minute to earn a point against table toppers Barcelona last weekend. That impressive comeback makes it eight points won from a losing position in the league this season, a tally which only Atlético Madrid could better ahead of this weekend’s games.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Winger Jofre Carreras has contributed to Espanyol’s last three goals at home (G2, A1) but comes into this game looking to avoid a booking for a third successive game as one more would result in a suspension. Anastasios Douvikas didn’t find the net against Barcelona but the Greek striker had scored in his previous three competitive games for Celta, including three goals in two away matches.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Espanyol have scored 33% of their goals from outside the penalty area, the highest percentage of any team in La Liga this season.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Tom Penn[/i][/p]