The weekend fixtures in La Liga come to an end on Monday night as Celta Vigo host Real Betis at the Estadio de Balaidos.
Celta Vigo started the weekend in 8th place in La Liga but a win could only take them one place up the table. However, a win would potentially leave them one point off the Europa League places in La Liga and Celta Vigo will eyeing a return to European football.
Real Betis start the match in 12th place and have nice 10-point cushion over the relegation zone. Despite being four places below Celta Vigo in the league, Real Betis are just one point adrift of their hosts and a win would see them move above them in the table. Real Betis could move as high as 7th this week.
Celta Vigo come into this match having defeated Real Sociedad 2-1 away from home last weekend in what was a good win. It was their second win in a row in the league and trends show Celta Vigo are undefeated in their last four La Liga games, winning three and drawing one.
They recovered well from their 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Barcelona in the Copa del Rey to win their last two matches, both of which have been away from home.
However, Celta Vigo have been very inconsistent at home and have won three of their last fourteen home matches. If they want to mount a serious challenge for European football next season, they must improve at home.
There have been over 2.5 goals scored in nineteen of Celta Vigo’s last twenty-five league games.
Real Betis will want to forget their previous match having lost 5-0 at home to Barcelona last weekend in La Liga. Both they and Celta Vigo have felt the wrath of the champions elect in recent weeks.
However, having struggled through October and November, Real Betis have won three of their last five league games. There have been victories against Malaga, Leganes and Sevilla, the latter of which was an excellent 5-3 win at the home of their local rivals.
Real Betis have won their last two away league games and the wins at Sevilla and Real Madrid show they are a team to be feared away from home in La Liga this season.
Trends show Real Betis are an entertaining team to watch and they have scored 2 or more goals in eleven of their last sixteen away games but are conceding on average 2.11 goals in away La Liga matches this season.
Team News and Celta Vigo have every player fit and available for this match. They should start in a 4-4-2 formation with Iago Aspas partnered by Maxi Gomez in attack.
Real Betis have a couple of injury concerns with Joel Campbell and Antonio Sanabria out with injury. There is also a doubt over Antonio Adnan, who has a knock and will be replaced in goal by Dani Gimenez if required.
This has the makings of a very entertaining match and while it is difficult to predict which team will come out on top, we should see over 2.5 goals scored.