Celta Vigo will be bidding to give their survival hopes another huge boost when they continue their La Liga campaign against Alaves at Mendizorrotza Stadium on Saturday evening.
The visitors are 17th in the table, six points ahead of 18th-placed Cadiz, while Alaves occupy 14th position, 10 points clear of the relegation zone heading into the final straight.
Match preview
© Reuters
Alaves gained promotion back to La Liga through last season's Segunda Division playoffs, so securing safety this term was always going to be their number one priority, with anything more than that a bonus.
The Blue and Whites are not yet safe in terms of their spot at this level for another campaign, but they are in a strong position, sitting 14th, 10 points clear of 18th-placed Cadiz with only six games left.
Luis Garcia's side lost three straight games to Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Granada between March 16 and April 14, but they will enter this match off the back of an impressive 2-0 success over Atletico Madrid.
Alaves have been solid at home this season, picking up 24 points from 16 matches, recording seven wins in the process, and they will be hosting a Celta side with just three away victories to their name this term.
El Glorioso will be aiming to record their first win over Celta since October 2019 in this contest, and the points were shared in a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture earlier this season.
© Reuters
Celta rolled the dice last month when they sacked the experienced Rafael Benitez and named 36-year-old Claudio Giraldez as their new head coach, promoting him from his managerial position with Celta B.
The former Real Madrid youngster has guided the Sky Blues to two wins from his four matches in charge, suffering just one defeat, and the Vigo outfit will enter this fixture off the back of a hugely-impressive 4-1 success over an out-of-form Las Palmas team.
Celta are 17th in the table on 31 points, six points clear of 18th-placed Cadiz, so another positive result this weekend would give their survival hopes a huge boost.
Almeria and Granada can actually both be relegated from La Liga this weekend; the former will go down if they fail to beat Getafe, but a win would not be enough for the basement outfit if Celta avoid defeat against Alaves in this match and Mallorca, who are 16th, overcome Cadiz.
Granada, meanwhile, will be relegated if they lose to Osasuna and both Celta and Mallorca manage to triumph in their fixtures, so it could be a huge weekend in Spain's top flight.
Team News
© Reuters
Alaves have no fresh fitness concerns this weekend, but the hosts will be missing two players through suspension, with Abdel Abqar and Rafa Marin both picking up milestone yellow cards against Atletico.
Ruben Duarte, Adrian Rodriguez and Aleksandar Sedlar are also set to remain on the sidelines.
Head coach Garcia will be forced to change his two centre-backs from the two-goal success over Atletico, while there is also expected to be an alteration in the final third of the field, with Samu Omorodion in line for a recall, having not been used against his parent club.
The team's defensive problems could see 20-year-old Eneko Ortiz make his La Liga debut.
As for Celta, Renato Tapia and Joseph Aidoo remain on the sidelines through injury, while Carlos Dotor and Mihailo Ristic could miss out once again.
The visitors will also have to work around the absence of Jorgen Strand Larsen, as the 24-year-old, who has 11 league goals this season, picked up a milestone booking against Las Palmas.
Larsen's absence is expected to open the door for Tasos Douvikas to start, with the attacker registering off the bench last time out.
There will also be another spot in the XI for the experienced Iago Aspas, who scored a brace in the team's last game to take his tally to seven in Spain's top flight this term.
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Sivera; Tenaglia, Guevara, Ortiz, J Lopez; Benavidez, Blanco; Gorosabel, Guridi, Simeone; Omorodion
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Guaita; Mingueza, C Dominguez, U Nunez; Perez, Jailson, Beltran, Alvarez; Aspas, Douvikas, Swedberg
We say: Alaves 1-1 Celta Vigo
Alaves have only lost six of their 16 home league matches this season, and this will not be an easy game for Celta. The Sky Blues have won five of their last six meetings in Spain's top flight, but we are expecting the points to be shared on Saturday evening.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
