Espanyol
- Espanyol come into this Saturday night’s LaLiga clash with Celta de Vigo in a fairly poor run of form having failed to win any of their last five games (D2, L3).
- Manolo González’s side have picked up 34 points from their 23 LaLiga fixtures to date and sit just one point above their opponents in seventh.
- Since taking over in March 2024, González has instilled a real defensive structure and pragmatic approach on his side as they play a solid 4-3-3 system, looking to be compact and patient in possession, but then compact in a mid-block.
- They average 1.33 goals conceded per home game in LaLiga, so they do concede a couple on a regular basis but we feel the solid 4-3-3 structure will contain the Celts' attack.
Celta de Vigo
- Celta have failed to win in any of their last three away matches (D2, L1).
- Claudio Giráldez has done a tremendous job since coming in as boss in March 2024 and has moulded the Celts into a progressive, possession-based side that play a 3-4-3 system with plenty of width.
- Celta are much more of a vertical team than Espanyol, looking to push the tempo and will undoubtedly try and exploit the Parakeets' compact structure.
Head-to-Head
Espanyol do hold the edge in the recent H2H record with three wins from the last three meetings and a victory in the return fixture two months ago.
Betting Insights
The odds for Espanyol to get the win in this one at 2.52 are slightly better than Celta at 2.78 , but we think the tie at 3.2 looks the most likely outcome.
Prediction
- We’re expecting both sides to be positive as both will be looking to establish their identities in the top eight and make a run for Europe.
- We feel the solid 4-3-3 structure will contain the Celts' attack.
