Celta Vigo will be looking to make it five straight victories in all competitions when they continue their La Liga campaign at home to Alaves on Sunday afternoon.
The Sky Blues have risen up the table into ninth courtesy of three straight wins, while Alaves currently occupy 15th, having picked up 14 points from their 13 matches this season.
Match preview
© Reuters
Celta struggled for results in the early stages of the season and at one stage it did appear that the club would face an uphill task to secure another campaign of La Liga football.
A change in manager has brought about a change in fortunes, though, with Eduardo Coudet winning four of his five games in charge since replacing Oscar Garcia at the helm on November 12.
The Sky Blues will enter this match off the back of a thumping 5-0 win over Llanera in the Copa del Rey on Thursday night, while they have been victorious in each of their last three in the league, beating Granada and Athletic Bilbao before recording a 4-0 win over Cadiz last weekend.
Celta, as mentioned, now sit ninth in the table and are actually only three points off sixth-placed Sevilla, which is an indication of how quickly things can change after such a disappointing start.
© Reuters
Alaves, meanwhile, have won three, drawn five and lost five of their 13 league matches this season to collect 14 points, which has left them in 15th position in the table.
The Basque club are only two points behind Celta, though, and would propel themselves up the division if they managed to pick up all three points on Sunday afternoon.
Pablo Machin's side were also victorious in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday night, easing their way into the second round of the competition courtesy of a 2-0 success away to Rincon.
Alaves lost 1-0 at Huesca in the league last weekend, but they famously beat Real Madrid at the end of last month and are certainly capable of causing any side in the division problems.
El Glorioso actually suffered a 6-0 defeat to Celta in the corresponding game towards the end of last season, but they have lost just once to their opponents on Sunday since September 2017.
Celta Vigo La Liga form: LDLWWW
Celta Vigo form (all competitions): DLWWWW
Alaves La Liga form: DDDWDL
Alaves form (all competitions): DDWDLW
Team News
© Reuters
Celta will be without the services of Sergio Alvarez, David Junca and Santi Mina through injury, while Kevin Vazquez is a doubt for the home side.
Jeison Murillo is available after a one-match suspension, though, and is expected to return to the XI, potentially at the expense of Joseph Aidoo.
Mina could be replaced by Fran Beltran, but the bulk of the team that featured against Cadiz will again take to the field, with Nolito, Iago Aspas, Denis Suarez and Brais Mendez all in line for starts.
As for Alaves, Victor Laguardia and Pere Pons are both expected to miss out through injury, but Rodrigo Battaglia and Florian Lejeune are available after one-game bans.
Joselu and Lucas Perez should continue as the front two in a 4-4-2 formation, with Luis Rioja and Jota Peleteiro likely to feature in the wide positions.
Laguardia's absence will open the door for Lejeune to return to the middle of the defence, while Edgar Mendez could drop out to allow Battaglia to return.
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Blanco; Mallo, Araujo, Murillo, Olaza; Mendez, Beltran, Tapia, Suarez; Nolito, Aspas
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Pacheco; Navarro, Ely, Lejeune, Duarte; Jota, Pina, Battaglia, Rioja; Perez, Joselu
We say: Celta Vigo 1-1 Alaves
Alaves have only lost one of their last seven league matches and are certainly capable of beating an in-form Celta. The home side will be full of confidence due to their recent results, but we fancy the two sides to play out a low-scoring draw on Sunday afternoon.
Top betting tip
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Celta Vigo win with a probability of 47.53%. A draw had a probability of 27.3% and a win for Alaves had a probability of 25.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Celta Vigo win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.63%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.48%) and 2-1 (8.83%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.7%), while for an Alaves win it was 0-1 (9.14%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 9.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Celta Vigo would win this match.
