Preview:Celta Vigo vs Atletico Madrid - prediction, team news, lineups

Atletico Madrid will be bidding to make it four straight wins in all competitions when they continue their 2025-26 La Liga campaign with a clash against Celta Vigo on Sunday night.

Diego Simeone's side are currently fifth in the La Liga table, boasting 12 points from their opening seven matches of the season, while the hosts are 17th, with the Sky Blues yet to triumph in Spain's top flight this term.

Match preview

Celta are still waiting for their first win of the 2025-26 La Liga campaign, with a record of five draws and two defeats from seven matches bringing them five points, which is only enough for 17th spot in the table.

The Sky Blues did manage to win their first match of the season in the Europa League on Thursday, though, beating PAOK 2-1 on home soil, so they are now off and running for the new campaign.

Celta suffered a 2-1 defeat to Elche in the league last weekend, and each of their five draws in La Liga this term have been 1-1, so it has been a somewhat bizarre start to the campaign.

Claudio Giraldez's side finished seventh in La Liga last term to secure Europa League football for the 2025-26 campaign, and it would be a surprise if they were unable to progress through the league phase.

Celta actually held Atletico to a 1-1 draw in the last meeting between the two sides in February 2025, but they have not managed to beat the Red and Whites since a 2-0 home success in September 2018.

Atletico were 1-0 winners in the corresponding match last season, and they have only lost once away to Celta in the league since February 2015, so the Red and Whites will enter this match as the big favourites.

Simeone's team have managed to put together a three-game winning run, beating Rayo Vallecano and Real Madrid in their last two league games, before thumping Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 in the Champions League last time out.

A record of three wins, three draws and one defeat from seven league matches this season has left Atletico in fifth spot in the table on 12 points, six points behind second-placed Real Madrid and seven from the leaders Barcelona.

Atletico struggled to get going in the early stages of the season, but the 5-2 success over Real Madrid last weekend was a statement result, and the Red and Whites are now eyeing a fourth straight success in all competitions.

Simeone's side often have one of the strongest defensive records in Europe let alone La Liga, but they have already conceded nine times in their seven games this term, which is a statistic that will give the hosts a degree of confidence.

Celta Vigo La Liga form:

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Celta Vigo form (all competitions):

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Atletico Madrid La Liga form:

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Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):

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Team News

Celta will definitely be without the services of Sergio Carreira due to injury, while Mihailo Ristic and Javi Rueda both face late fitness tests ahead of the contest on Sunday.

Borja Iglesias has scored six times in nine appearances during an excellent start to the season, and there should be another start through the middle for the 32-year-old.

Bryan Zaragoza and Pablo Duran are also in line for starts on Sunday, with the experienced Iago Aspas expected to be among the substitutes for the first whistle.

As for Atletico, Johnny Cardoso remains unavailable for selection through injury, while Jose Gimenez and Thiago Almada are doubts.

Alexander Sorloth should overcome a knock to feature in the final third of the field alongside Julian Alvarez, while Nico Gonzalez could also be recalled in a wide area.

David Hancko is another who is likely to be reintroduced into the XI to freshen it up, while Koke should also come back into the team after starting on the bench against Frankfurt last time out.

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:

Radu; Rodriguez, Dominguez, Alonso; Abdellaoui, Beltran, Sotelo, Alvarez; Duran, Iglesias, Zaragoza

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Llorente, Le Normand, Lenglet, Hancko; Simeone, Koke, Barrios, Gonzalez; Alvarez, Sorloth

We say: Celta Vigo 1-2 Atletico Madrid

Atletico will actually be the fresher of the two sides, with Celta in European action on Thursday night. It would not be a shock to see the points shared on Sunday, but we have a feeling that Atletico will be able to navigate their way to an important three points ahead of the October international break.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.