Celta Vigo vs Atlético Madrid Prediction, Betting Tips & Preview

Preview

Joel Amorim Jan 09, 2016 @ 04:59 am

Next Sunday, 10th of January 2015, a somewhat inconsistent Celta de Vigo will take on the league leaders Atlético Madrid at Los Balaídos for Round 19 of the Spanish Liga BBVA.

There is an huge amount of uncertainty surrounding next weekend’s match because of the heavy rain felt over the past few day, which has not only flooded Los Balaídos’ surrounding area, but also some parts of the stadium itself. At the time of writing this report, there was still a strong possibility of the match being postponed as the weather forecasts for the weekend are not looking bright.

Concerning the game, Celta de Vigo conceded their second consecutive league defeat last weekend, after being surprised by Málaga at La Rosaleda. Another lacklustre performance from the Celestes offered the home side the possibility of extending their recent good streak and they did it. An early goal by former Celta’s forward Charles and another by Albentosa sentenced the match already in the first-half and granted Málaga their sixth win of the season.

Without Nolito, who is currently recovering from injury, and without Augusto Fernández, who joined Atlético Madrid last week, Celta were once again a vulnerable team, especially back in the defence, and were never capable of counter the home side’s superiority.

Despite the negatives, Celta’s midweek win over Cádiz CF for the first-leg of the 1/8 finals of the Copa del Rey might work as a catalyst for the team to return to winning ways when they meet Atlético Madrid next Sunday. Ruben Blanco, suspended, Nolito and Andreu Fontas, both injured, will all miss out there.

As for Atlético Madrid, after a complicated 2-0 win at Vallecas, the current league leaders had to dig very deep in order to overcome Levante at Vicente Calderón last weekend. A late goal by Thomas Teye helped the Colchoneros to claw the three points against an apparently fragile opponent, who, nevertheless, put up a solid and consistent performance at Madrid last Saturday night.

Diego Simeone’s men are currently at the top of the league, two points ahead of Barcelona, who have one game in hand. The Argentinean head coach is managing once again to build a strong and solid team giving Atlético the possibility of battling for the league title this season. Portuguese midfielder Tiago, currently recovering from a broken leg, will miss next Sunday’s travel to Vigo.

Celta de Vigo

Stats: W-3 L-2 D-0

Recent Form - WLLWW

Atlético Madrid

Stats: W-3 L-1 D-1

Recent Form - DWWLW

Possible Line-ups

Celta de Vigo (4-3-3) - Sergio Alvarez - Mallo - Gómez - Cabral - Jonny - Wass - Radoja - Tucu Hernández - Orellana - Bongonda - Aspas

Atlético Madrid (4-3-3) - Oblak - Juanfran - Filipe Luis - Savic - Godín - Koke - Gabi - Niguez - Carrasco - Griezmann - Jackson Martínez

Injury List / Suspended Players

Celta de Vigo - Blanco (sus) - Fontas (inj) - Nolito (inj)

Atlético Madrid - Tiago (inj)

Head-to-head matches:

League Positions