Celta Vigo will be looking for just their second victory of the 2023-24 La Liga campaign when they welcome Getafe to the Estadio Municipal de Balaidos on Sunday evening.
The home side have struggled to get going this season, currently sitting down in 18th position in the table, while Getafe are 11th, boasting nine points from their opening eight matches.
Match preview
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Celta have not played outside of Spain's top flight since the 2011-12 campaign, but the early indications are that this could be a tough season for the Sky Blues unless their performance levels improve.
Rafael Benitez's side have only picked up five points from their eight league matches this season, which has left them down in 18th position in the table heading into the next set of fixtures.
Celta's only win of the campaign was a 3-2 success at Almeria on September 1, and they have lost three of their four games since then, including a 2-1 reverse to Las Palmas on Monday night.
Benitez slammed VAR after his team's last match, insisting that Jorgen Strand Larsen's effort in the first half was wrongly disallowed, and the defeat was even more painful considering that Celta led until the 84th minute, when Jonathan Viera levelled, before Marc Cardona won it for Las Palmas in the 97th minute.
Celta are back on home soil this weekend, but they have only managed to pick up one point from an available 12 in front of their own supporters this season, and the strugglers are in desperate need of a positive result.
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Getafe, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a goalless draw with Villarreal, with the result leaving them in 11th position in the table, boasting nine points from their opening eight matches.
Jose Bordalas's side were last victorious on September 17, recording a 3-2 win over Osasuna, and they have had a tough run of matches since, facing Real Sociedad, Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal, picking up two points in the process.
Getafe have finished 15th in each of their last three campaigns at this level, but they were eighth, fifth and eighth between 2018 and 2020, so the team have previous when it comes to pushing high up the table.
The capital side have also only lost one of their last four league games against Celta, recording a 1-0 victory when the two sides last locked horns towards the end of last season.
The points were shared in a 1-1 draw in the corresponding match during the 2022-23 campaign, but Getafe were 2-0 winners away to Celta the season before.
Team News
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Celta have not reported any injury problems ahead of this match, while the squad will be boosted by the return of Luca de la Torre following a suspension.
Iago Aspas is yet to score this season, and the 36-year-old dropped down to the bench against Las Palmas last time out, but he is expected to return to the starting side for this match.
De la Torre should also be back in midfield, with Fran Beltran potentially being replaced, but Benitez is not expected to make too many changes to the side that started the team's last match.
Getafe, meanwhile, have three players on the sidelines through injury, with Jose Angel Carmona, Luis Milla and Enes Unal missing the contest.
Mason Greenwood started on the bench against Villarreal, but the on-loan Manchester United attacker, who is yet to score this season, could be introduced back into the first XI for this match.
Juanmi Latasa is also likely to earn a recall for Sunday's match, with Jaime Mata and Oscar Rodriguez potentially both dropping down to the bench for the clash in Vigo.
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Villar; Mingueza, Aidoo, Starfelt, Nunez, Sanchez; Dotor, De la Torre, Bamba; Douvikas, Aspas
Getafe possible starting lineup:
Soria; Dakonam, Mitrovic, Alvarez, Rico; Greenwood, Maksimovic, Arambarri, Alena; Mayoral, Latasa
We say: Celta Vigo 1-2 Getafe
Not too much is going right for Celta at the moment, and we can see Benitez's side losing again there. Getafe have a lot of talent in the forward positions and have picked up solid draws in their last two matches, so the capital outfit will enter Sunday's contest in a good place.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
