Preview: Celta Vigo vs Levante - prediction, team news, lineups

Celta Vigo will continue their pursuit of Champions League football when they welcome Levante to Balaidos on Tuesday.

The visitors, meanwhile, are searching for a second consecutive win to boost their La Liga survival hopes.

Match preview

Having won 13, drawn 11 and lost 11 of their 35 matches, Celta are sitting in sixth spot in La Liga and in a strong position to better last season's seventh-place finish.

As things stand, the Galician outfit are on course to seal a second consecutive season of Europa League football, although they are harbouring hopes of clinching Champions League qualification for the first time since featuring in the 2003-04 competition.

Back-to-back victories have boosted Celta's hopes of a fifth-place finish, which will be enough for Champions League football after Rayo Vallecano's second-leg win over Strasbourg secured La Liga an extra spot in UEFA's elite club competition.

Claudio Giraldez's side followed a 3-1 home victory over Elche with a narrow 1-0 success in Saturday's clash against Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano.

Borja Iglesias's sublime chipped finish proved enough to fire Celta to their first away league win over Atletico since June 2007, moving them to within four points of fifth-placed Real Betis ahead of their final three games against Levante, Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla.

Celta may fancy their chances of adding three more points to their tally on Tuesday, having won three of their previous four meetings with Levante, including a dramatic 2-1 victory in November's reverse fixture, which came courtesy of Miguel Roman's stoppage-time winner.

That said, they head into matchday 36 with the second-worst home record in the top flight after mustering 20 points from their 17 La Liga outings at Balaidos.

In contrast to their hosts, Levante are battling to avoid an immediate return to the second tier, with two points separating them from safety ahead of their midweek trip to Galicia.

The Granotes bounced back from a heavy 5-1 away defeat to Villarreal with a comeback 3-2 victory against Osasuna on Friday.

Victor Garcia netted a two-minute brace to cancel out an own goal and an Ante Budimir effort, before Osasuna goalkeeper Sergio Herrera was sent off on the stroke of half time for deliberately handling the ball outside his box.

Luis Castro's side struggled to capitalise on their numercial advantage until Karl Etta Eyong made the difference in the 90th minute, netting his first league goal since October to fire his side to a fourth consecutive home victory.

While they are unbeaten in six games at the Estadi Cuitat de Valencia, Levante have taken just two points from their last seven away matches since beating Sevilla in January, which will be cause for concern for a side that will head on their travels for two of their final three fixtures.

They have also failed to win any of their last five games against Celta since enjoying a run of three consecutive head-to-head victories from February 2019 to July 2020.

They can at least take some confidence from the fact they have avoided defeat in three of their previous four visits to Balaidos (W2, D1).

Celta Vigo La Liga form:

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Celta Vigo form (all competitions):

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Levante La Liga form:

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Team News

The Champions League-chasing hosts will be unable to call upon the injured trio of Carl Starfelt, Miguel Roman and Matias Vecino.

Javi Rueda is back from a one-match ban and could feature as the right wing-back in Tuesday’s contest.

Hugo Sotelo, Sergio Carreira and Iago Aspas are also options to start if Giraldez decides to freshen up his lineup.

As for the visitors, they remain without the services of Unai Elgezabal, Carlos Romero and Ivan Romero due to injury.

Midfielder Kevin Arriaga is in contention to start after serving a one-match ban for an accumulation of yellow cards.

Kevin Brugue, who featured as a half-time substitute on Friday, is also pushing for his first starting opportunity since returning from a long injury absence.

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:

Radu; Rodriguez, Lago, Alonso; Rueda, Moriba, Sotelo, Carreira; Aspas, Alvarez; Iglesias

Levante possible starting lineup:

Ryan; Toljan, Dela, Moreno, Sanchez; Olasagasti, Martinez, Arriaga; Garcia, Brugue, Espi

We say: Celta Vigo 2-1 Levante

Celta have struggled to produce their best form in front of their supporters this season, but they were able to take three points from their most recent home outing against Elche, and considering they are set to face a team that has lost five of their last seven away games, we think the hosts will do enough to claim the spoils.

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