Preview: Real Betis vs Celta Vigo - prediction, team news, lineups

Real Betis and Celta Vigo will both be looking to return to winning ways in Spain's top flight when they resume their respective campaigns with a clash in Seville on Sunday.

The home side are currently fifth in the La Liga table, three points ahead of sixth-placed Celta, with both teams battling to secure European football for the 2026-27 season.

Match preview

Betis will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 defeat to Panathinaikos in the first leg of their last-16 Europa League contest, so Manuel Pellegrini's side have it all to do in the second leg next week.

The Seville outfit are actually winless in their last four matches in all competitions during a disappointing run of form, only picking up two points from their last three league games, and they suffered a 2-0 reverse to Getafe in the league last time out.

Pellegrini's team are fifth in the La Liga table, boasting a record of 11 wins, 10 draws and six defeats from their 27 matches during the 2025-26 campaign.

Real Betis are three points ahead of sixth-placed Celta and 11 points from Villarreal in fourth, so fifth appears to be the highest that the team could finish this term.

El Glorioso, who were sixth in La Liga last season, have been strong at home during the 2025-26 campaign, picking up 24 points from their 13 games in front of their own fans.

Celta were also in European action on Thursday evening, drawing 1-1 with Lyon in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 clash, with the second leg due to take place in France next week.

Claudio Giraldez's side finished seventh in La Liga last season and are also chasing an improvement this term, with a solid campaign leaving them in sixth.

The Sky Blues have a record of 10 wins, 10 draws and seven defeats from their 27 league matches this season to collect 40 points, three fewer than fifth-placed Betis and three more than Espanyol, who are currently seventh in the division.

Celta beat Girona 2-1 in their last league game on their travels at the start of March, but they lost 2-1 at home to Real Madrid in La Liga last time out.

Earlier this season, it was 1-1 between Celta and Real Betis, while it was also a draw (2-2) when the pair locked horns in the corresponding game last term.

Real Betis La Liga form:

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Real Betis form (all competitions):

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Celta Vigo La Liga form:

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Celta Vigo form (all competitions):

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Team News

Real Betis are again set to be without the services of Sofyan Amrabat, Isco and Giovani Lo Celso for Sunday's La Liga match, but no fresh issues were suffered against Panathinaikos.

Alvaro Fidalgo is expected to be introduced back into the side to strengthen the midfield.

However, the rest of the team could remain unchanged from Thursday's match, with Cucho Hernandez once again set to be given the nod in the final third of the field.

As for Celta, Miguel Roman missed the clash with Lyon due to a foot injury, and the 23-year-old remains a major doubt for this match, but the visitors are otherwise in strong shape.

Iago Aspas was substituted at the interval of Thursday's European contest, and the experienced attacker is unlikely to start here, with Ferran Jutgla potentially being introduced.

Borja Iglesias has been in excellent form for Celta this season, finding the back of the net on 15 occasions in all competitions, and the striker should again start on Sunday.

Real Betis possible starting lineup:

Valles; Ruibal, Llorente, Natan, Rodriguez; Fornals, Roca, Fidalgo; Antony, Hernandez, Ezzalzouli

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:

Radu; Rodriguez, Starfelt, Alonso; Rueda, Vecino, Moriba, Mingueza; Jutgla, Iglesias, Swedberg

We say: Real Betis 1-1 Celta Vigo

This is a really tough match to predict, especially off the back of European games. Recent meetings suggest that this is going to be a close game, and we have ultimately had to settle on a low-scoring draw in Seville.

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