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Celta Vigo logo
La Liga | Gameweek 11
Oct 28, 2021 at 6pm UK
Balaidos
Real Sociedad logo
Celta Vigo
0 - 2
Real Sociedad

Beltran (45')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Isak (55'), Elustondo (80')

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

Sports Mole previews Thursday's La Liga clash between Celta Vigo and Real Sociedad, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Seeking to cement their position atop the La Liga rankings, Real Sociedad travel to Celta Vigo for Thursday's top-flight battle.

The hosts eased to a 3-0 success over whipping boys Getafe last time out, while Sociedad played out a 2-2 draw with reigning champions Atletico Madrid.


Match preview

Celta Vigo head coach Eduardo Coudet pictured in May 2021© Reuters

Finally marching to some long-awaited victories after a nightmare start to the season, Celta Vigo barely needed to hit second gear to put three unanswered goals past basement side Getafe and continue their rise up the rankings at the weekend.

After a goalless opening 45 minutes, Santi Mina and Iago Aspas struck in quick succession for Celta before the former put the cherry on the icing on the cake in the 73rd minute, with that triumph against the 10 men of Getafe representing Los Celestes' third win from five in La Liga.

That run does include a pair of 1-0 defeats to Elche and Sevilla earlier this month, though, as Celta occupy 14th spot in the table after 10 games, but their current form is a marked improvement on their 0-1-4 record after five games of the new season.

With two talented forwards in Aspas and Mina leading the line, Eduardo Coudet's side have amassed 10 goals from as many games this season - the joint-highest in the bottom half of the table - but only three of those strikes have come at home, where they have lost four out of five so far this term.

Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil on September 16, 2021© Reuters

Travelling to the Wanda Metropolitano for the first true test of their mettle since their opening-day defeat to Barcelona, Sociedad were in dreamland for an hour against Atletico Madrid, as Alexander Sorloth and Alexander Isak put them two goals to the good in the capital.

However, Atletico fought back like true champions to take a point as Luis Suarez bagged a brace in front of the home crowd, forcing Sociedad to settle for their fifth draw from nine games in all competitions, but a whole 19 teams are still below the visitors in the table.

Indeed, Imanol Alguacil's side currently hold a one-point lead over Real Madrid and Sevilla, but both of those teams have a game in hand, and Sociedad could be knocked off top spot before their trip to Celta depending on what transpires on Wednesday.

The league leaders are now unbeaten in 12 games across all tournaments since their opening-day loss to Barca, though, and they have scored at least two goals in four of their five La Liga road matches this term, with the two Alexanders now out to prove their worth to Alguacil after scoring their first goals of the league season against Atletico.

Sociedad eased to a 4-1 win on Celta's turf before marching to a 2-1 success on home soil during the 2020-21 campaign, although Aspas always seems to have a goal in him against this week's visitors, leading the way with 10 strikes in this fixture.

Celta Vigo La Liga form:
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • W

Real Sociedad La Liga form:
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • D

Real Sociedad form (all competitions):
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • D



Team News

Real Sociedad's Adnan Januzaj celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on September 16, 2021© Reuters

Celta boss Coudet is hopeful that Renato Tapia will recover from his calf injury in time to feature this week, but Jose Fontan's knee sprain is set to keep him out of action a little while longer.

The hosts have no fresh concerns to deal with from the weekend, but winger Brais Mendez is walking a tightrope on four bookings and will miss the weekend's meeting with Rayo Vallecano if he is cautioned here.

Tapia will challenge Fran Beltran for the holding midfield role if fit enough, but other than that it should be as you were for Celta, with Arsenal flop Denis Suarez operating behind Mina and Aspas.

Meanwhile, Sociedad continue to cope with a hefty list of injuries, with Mikel Oyarzabal, Nacho Monreal, Jon Guridi, Diego Rico and Carlos Fernandez are set to remain out a little while longer.

Asier Illarramendi is stepping up his training after a thigh injury but remains a doubt for the contest, as does Ander Barrenetxea, while Martin Zubimendi did not train on Monday owing to his hip problem.

Alguacil lined up with a three-man defence against Atletico but ought to return to a four here, with Robin Le Normand expected to be fine despite taking a stomp to the foot against Atletico.

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Dituro; Mallo, Aidoo, Murillo, Galan; Beltran; Mendez, Suarez, Nolito; Aspas, Mina

Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Remiro; Gorosabel, Le Normand, Elustondo, Aihen; Merino, Zubeldia; Portu, Silva, Januzaj; Isak


SM words green background

We say: Celta Vigo 0-1 Real Sociedad

Celta's home record makes for bleak reading before the visit of the league leaders, but Coudet will be hoping to see Aspas and Mina pick up where they left off after a confidence-boosting win over Getafe.

However, Sociedad will be out for blood after throwing away two points against Atletico and know how to find the back of the net away from home, so we expect Alguacil's side to remain atop the rankings with a hard-fought success.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data



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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 Real Sociedad win with a probability of 43.8%. A win for Celta Vigo had a probability of 29% and a draw had a probability of 27.2%.

The most likely scoreline for a Real Sociedad win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.21%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.71%) and 0-2 (8.29%). The likeliest Celta Vigo win was 1-0 (9.45%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.83%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with an 8.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Real Sociedad would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Celta Vigo vs Real Sociedad

Celta Vigo
13.0%
Draw
17.6%
Real Sociedad
69.5%
239
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rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Madrid29226164204472
2Barcelona29197360342664
3GironaGirona29195559342562
4Athletic Bilbao29168550262456
5Atletico MadridAtletico29174854342055
6Real Sociedad291210742311146
7Real BetisBetis29101273433142
8Valencia28117103232040
9Villarreal29108114751-438
10Getafe2991193742-538
11Las PalmasLas Palmas29107122932-337
12Osasuna29106133343-1036
13AlavesAlaves2988132635-932
14Mallorca29612112535-1030
15Rayo Vallecano29611122538-1329
16Sevilla29610133644-828
17Celta Vigo2969143244-1227
18CadizCadiz29313132040-2022
19Granada2828183058-2814
20Almeria29110182857-2913

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