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

Espanyol will aim to avoid a fifth straight defeat in Spain's top flight when they welcome Celta Vigo to RCDE Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The hosts are sixth in the La Liga table, one point ahead of seventh-placed Celta, with both teams battling to secure European football for the 2026-27 campaign.

Match preview

Espanyol have been excellent for much of this season, but the Catalan outfit have lost each of their last four in the league, while they have been beaten in five of their last six.

Manolo Gonzalez's side have kept hold of sixth spot in the table, but they are just one point ahead of seventh-placed Celta and three clear of an in-form Real Sociedad in eighth, so Espanyol are far from comfortable when it comes to a top-six spot.

The White and Blues have not been victorious in the league since a 2-1 success over Athletic Bilbao on December 22, while their home form this season has been mixed, winning six, drawing one and losing five of their 12 league games in front of their own fans.

Espanyol have a strong recent record against Celta, though, winning five of their last seven meetings in all competitions and suffering just one defeat.

The Catalan outfit have actually only lost twice to Celta since September 2016, but one of those defeats was a 3-1 home reverse in March 2023.

Celta will enter Saturday's match off the back of a 2-1 home defeat to Osasuna, and they have only picked up one point from their last three league games.

The Sky Blues were last victorious in the league on January 18, beating Rayo Vallecano 3-0 on home soil, with that game coming before a 2-1 win over Lille in the Europa League.

Claudio Giraldez's side are currently preparing to take on PAOK in the Europa League knockout round playoffs, with the first leg of their clash taking place in Greece next week.

Celta must focus on La Liga for the moment, though, as they are battling for a top-six spot, and a win over Espanyol would see them move above the Catalan side in the division.

The Sky Blues have a record of eight wins, nine draws and six defeats from their 23 league matches during the 2025-26 campaign to collect 33 points.

Espanyol La Liga form:

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Celta Vigo La Liga form:

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Celta Vigo form (all competitions):

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Team News

Espanyol will be without the services of Javi Puado due to a long-term knee injury, but the Catalan outfit are otherwise in strong shape for the contest.

Carlos Romero and Roman Terrats will return to the squad after being unable to feature against their parent club Villarreal last time out.

Kike Garcia could potentially be introduced in the final third of the field, while there may also be a start in a wide area for Cyril Ngonge, with the 25-year-old impressing on his debut for the Catalan outfit off the bench against Villarreal.

As for Celta, Alvaro Nunez remains a fitness doubt for the visitors, but the visitors have no further concerns for the game with Espanyol.

Head coach Giraldez will make changes to the side that started against Osasuna, with Oscar Mingueza and Williot Swedberg both in line to be introduced.

However, there will certainly be another start through the middle for Borja Iglesias, who has scored nine times in 21 La Liga appearances during the 2025-26 campaign.

Espanyol possible starting lineup:

Dmitrovic; El Hilali, Riedel, Cabrera, Romero; Ngonge, Exposito, Zarate, Lozano, Milla; K Garcia

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:

Radu; Alonso, Starfelt, Rodriguez; Carreira, Moriba, Roman, Mingueza; Swedberg, Iglesias, Lopez

We say: Espanyol 1-1 Celta Vigo

This is a tough match to call, as both teams are struggling to win matches at the moment. Both managers will be determined to take something from this game, and that could create a cagey affair, with the points potentially being shared in a low-scoring draw.

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