Celta Vigo are slowly improving in La Liga under manager Carlos Carvalhal. The Portuguese manager took over in November and is trying to steer the Sky Blues away from the relegation zone.
On Monday night, Celta Vigo will visit Osasuna’s El Sadar Stadium. The Sky Blues are looking for a second straight win in La Liga and a fourth in their last six league games.
😴 The team will rest tomorrow. On Saturday morning, los rojillos return to training to prepare for #OsasunaCelta#LetsGoRojillos pic.twitter.com/FI3dOwJpYl— C. A. OSASUNA (@osasuna_en) March 2, 2023
😴 The team will rest tomorrow. On Saturday morning, los rojillos return to training to prepare for #OsasunaCelta#LetsGoRojillos pic.twitter.com/FI3dOwJpYl
Osasuna are fresh off a home 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals. Los Rojillos are just 90 minutes away from the cup final, which will be played against either Barcelona or Real Madrid.
Long-standing manager Jagoba Arrasate needs to focus the team’s attention on Celta Vigo. It is completely reasonable the players will have their minds on the Copa del Rey second leg against Athletic Bilbao instead.
Since coming up from the Segunda four seasons ago, Arrasate has made Osasuna a difficult midtable team to defeat. Los Rojillos are eighth in the standings and just one point off the final European qualification place.
Osasuna are not in very good league form, however. They failed to win five of their last six matches, picking up just six points from those six games. Goals were difficult to come by in the last six matches, as Osasuna scored just five times.
Celta Vigo, on the other hand, picked up 10 points from the last 18 points on offer. They scored nine goals and conceded only six times. The Sky Blues go into the round in 13th place, four points above the relegation zone.
Osasuna slightly edged Celta Vigo in their last six head-to-head matches with three wins, one draw, and two defeats. Earlier this season, Osasuna went to Balaidos and won 2-1.
Chimy Avila scored on either side of an Iago Aspas goal to give Osasuna the win. All three goals came in the opening 28 minutes of the match.
Celta’s Renato Tapia is suspended for the match and will play no part. Defender Oscar Mingueza and goalie Agustin Marchesin are both ruled out with injuries. Arrasate has just one player injury ahead of the match, as Ruben Pena is a doubt with a leg issue.
Although Osasuna won the reverse fixture, their minds could be on the Copa del Rey semifinal second leg versus Athletic Bilbao, leading to a loss to Celta Vigo. The Sky Blues should pick up a narrow win by a 2-1 score at El Sadar.