Atletico Madrid are looking for their sixth straight win when they visit Celta Vigo in the La Liga. With a game remaining, Diego Simeone’s team is presently fourth in La Liga, five points behind champions Real Madrid. Celta, on the other hand, is currently in 18th place after earning just six points from their first nine games.
Preview (Celta Vigo vs. Atletico Madrid)
Before the international break, Celta and Getafe drew 2-2 for a point. The match also made the team’s winless streak in La Liga five games deep—three of which were losses. The Sky Blues are tied for 18th place in the standings with 19th-place Granada. Rafael Benitez’s team would be in much better shape if they could win this weekend. They are only three points behind Cadiz, who are in 13th place. However, they will be facing Girona, Sevilla, and Athletic Bilbao in their next three league games.
Celta has been in La Liga since receiving promotion in 2011–12. They finished 13th in Spain’s top division last season. It would be shocking to see them leave the league this year. The Vigo team has not defeated the Red and Whites in the top level since September 2018. They have lost their last four league games against Atletico. Before the international break, Atletico Madrid defeated Real Sociedad 2-1 at Wanda Metropolitano thanks to a penalty kick in the 89th minute by Antoine Griezmann. The match was competitive throughout.
It has been a fantastic start to the campaign for Simeone’s team. They have won their last four league games, including the Madrid derby against Real Madrid. They have also gained four points from their first two games in the Champions League group stage. With a game remaining, Atletico is currently five points behind Real Madrid. Their match against Sevilla, which was originally set for the beginning of September, was rescheduled due to inclement weather.
The Red and Whites are starting a nice run of La Liga games. They have a big European match away to Celtic next week. It wouldn’t be shocking if the team kept rolling in victories. With only one point separating third-place Atletico Madrid from second-place Real Madrid in the previous season’s top flight, the squad has shown a lot of promise in the first few months and appears to have the resources to contend for championships in 2023–2024.
Team News
Due to the muscular injury that Miguel Ristic sustained against Getafe prior to the international break, Celta will be without him on Saturday. This means that Manu Sanchez will probably start for Celta in place of Ristic. The injury that has kept Franco Cervi out of action notwithstanding, the Sky Blues are playing well overall, and Benitez would have been happy with his team’s attacking performance against Getafe. Iago Aspas is still without a goal for the season after missing a penalty in the team’s most recent game, but he should continue to play with Jorgen Strand Larsen in the last third of the field.
For this weekend’s match, Atletico will be without the services of Valentino, Jose Gimenez, Memphis Depay, Thomas Lemar, and Reinildo. Pablo Barrios, Cameroon Soyuncu, and Angel Correa are also serious uncertainties because the capital team has a lot of injury issues early in the 2023–24 season. For the match this weekend, Stefan Savic may start in the back three, but otherwise, the starting lineup from the last game against Real Sociedad may be used.
With a great start to the season, Alvaro Morata has scored five goals in La Liga. The 30-year-old will likely continue to play with Griezmann in the final third of the field. We are picking Atletico to defeat Celta this weekend for a fifth consecutive league victory because they are playing exceptionally well right now. Simeone’s team won 1-0 in the same game the previous season, and we can expect the same result on Saturday, meaning Atletico would have won six straight in all competitions.
Celta Vigo 0 – 1 Atletico Madrid
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