Villarreal vs Celta Vigo prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2023-04-29 14:15.
Villarreal’s late season charge for a top-four La Liga (LL) place got back on track with a 4-2 win at home to relegation contenders Espanyol, a result which saw them end the midweek round five points behind fourth-placed Sociedad. It was far from a perfect performance, as they conceded the opening goal prior to half-time for a fourth consecutive LL game whilst also conceding exactly two goals in their fourth-straight LL outing.
The Yellow Submarine’s matches have produced a winner more often than not this season, but one of the two draws seen in their last 24 LL fixtures came away to upcoming opponents Celta Vigo, which coincidentally happened to be the first and only time Villarreal have dropped LL points after opening the scoring this season (W10, D1). The home faithful, who have been waiting more than six months to see their club lead at the end of both halves in a LL home match, will now be hoping their players can find that elusive ‘perfect performance’.
Celta’s supporters were probably just relieved to see a win at all in midweek, even if it was in the form of a slender 1-0 against relegation-bound Elche. Four consecutive LL games without a win prior (D2, L2) threatened to hurl them back into relegation mix-up, but they’ve now accumulated the 39-point tally that was the minimum threshold for surviving in the 2021/22 season.
It has been a tumultuous introduction to Spanish football for Celta boss Carlos Carvalhal, but he now sees the “end of the tunnel” following the end of their four-game drought. The next breakthrough for Celta to pursue is their first LL win as an underdog in six attempts (D3, L2), following away draws in 2023 at higher ranked opponents such as Sevilla (2-2), Osasuna (0-0) and Real Sociedad (1-1).
Players to watch: After second-half goals in each of Villarreal’s last two LL home games, Étienne Capoue has accumulated five competitive goalscoring appearances in a single season for the first time since 2016/17. Gabri Veiga could be key to Celta’s fortunes here, having won each of his last three games in which he scored.
Hot stat: Villarreal have kept just one LL clean sheet at home to a club starting this round in the bottom half of the standings (4-0 v Elche).