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

Real Madrid will be aiming to bounce back from successive defeats in Spain's top flight when they continue their campaign away to Celta Vigo on Friday evening.

Back-to-back losses have dropped to Real Madrid to second spot in the La Liga table, four points behind the leaders Barcelona, while Celta are up in sixth position.

Match preview

Celta will enter Friday's match off the back of successive wins over Mallorca and Girona in Spain's top flight, with the results moving them up into sixth spot in the table, four points ahead of seventh-placed Espanyol and three points behind fifth-placed Real Betis.

Claudio Giraldez's side have actually won each of their last four matches in all competitions, having also triumphed in both legs of their Europa League knockout round playoff against PAOK, and they are now preparing to face Lyon in the round of 16.

The Sky Blues have only managed to triumph in four of their 13 home league matches this season, though, and they will be coming up against a Real Madrid side that have the best away record in the division, claiming 27 points from 13 games.

Celta are looking to complete a La Liga double over Real Madrid, having recorded a 2-0 victory when the pair locked horns at Bernabeu in December 2025.

Los Blancos were 2-1 winners over Celta in the reverse match last season, though, and the Sky Blues have not beaten Real Madrid in front of their own fans since May 2014.

There is no getting away from the fact it is a very testing period of the season for Real Madrid, who have lost their last two league games against Osasuna and Getafe.

Alvaro Arbeloa's side are second in the La Liga table, four points behind the leaders Barcelona, and they simply cannot afford more dropped points in this fixture.

Real Madrid are currently without a host of key players, including their leading goalscorer Kylian Mbappe, while they have been hit with the news that Rodrygo is facing the best part of a year on the sidelines with an ACL issue.

Los Blancos will welcome Manchester City to Bernabeu next week for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 contest, before hosting Elche in La Liga ahead of their second leg against Pep Guardiola's side on March 17.

Real Madrid then have the small matter of a league game against Atletico Madrid on March 22, and Arbeloa must ensure that the team's campaign does not unravel.

Celta Vigo La Liga form:

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Celta Vigo form (all competitions):

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Real Madrid La Liga form:

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Real Madrid form (all competitions):

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Team News

Celta will be boosted by the return of Borja Iglesias, with the striker, who has scored 14 times in all competitions during the 2025-26 campaign, missing out against Girona last time out through suspension.

However, Marcos Alonso, Carl Starfelt and Pablo Duran are set to miss the contest due to injury problems.

Ferran Jutgla was on the scoresheet against Girona and could be moved into a wide area to make space for the returning Iglesias, while Miguel Roman is expected to keep hold of his spot in the middle of the midfield.

As for Real Madrid, the capital giants have been rocked by the news that Rodrygo suffered a severe knee injury against Getafe on Monday night, with the Brazilian set to be absent for at least the next 10 months.

Mbappe, Dani Ceballos, Jude Bellingham and Eder Militao are also on the sidelines, while Franco Mastantuono is suspended following his red card against Getafe.

Eduardo Camavinga was absent against Getafe due to a dental issue, but the midfielder was back in training on Wednesday and should be involved.

Raul Asencio is again likely to miss out due to a neck injury, while David Alaba (calf) has emerged as a doubt, so there could be a start in the middle of the defence for Dean Huijsen.

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:

Radu; Rodriguez, Aidoo, Dominguez; Mingueza, Roman, Moriba, Carreira; Jutgla, Iglesias, Alvarez

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, Carreras; Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Guler; G Garcia, Vinicius

We say: Celta Vigo 2-2 Real Madrid

Real Madrid need to beat Celta, and we were close to backing Los Blancos to secure all three points on Friday night. However, Celta are a strong outfit, and we are expecting the Sky Blues to be good enough to hold a wounded Real Madrid.

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