Two sides looking to distance themselves from the La Liga relegation zone will lock horns on Wednesday as Real Valladolid play host to Celta Vigo at the Estadio Jose Zorrilla.
Valladolid enjoyed a 2-1 victory over Leganes as the Spanish top flight returned to action last weekend, whereas Celta suffered a 1-0 home defeat to European-chasing Villarreal.
Match preview
© Reuters
Valladolid could not have restarted their La Liga campaign in better fashion as they picked up a vital three points over a relegation-threatened Leganes side on Saturday.
That result leaves Sergio's men 14th in the table on 32 points - seven clear of the relegation zone as they look to secure a third consecutive season in Spain's top flight.
Valladolid's home form is a cause for concern for Sergio, however, as the White and Violets have only won one of their last eight matches on familiar territory - their last game at the Estadio Jose Zorrilla ending in a 4-1 defeat to Athletic Bilbao.
Should Levante suffer defeat against Sevilla and Real Betis fail to beat Granada on Monday evening, Valladolid can leapfrog the two sides into 12th with a victory over Celta on Wednesday.
© Reuters
Meanwhile, Celta's five-game unbeaten run in La Liga came to an end on Saturday as they succumbed to a late Manu Trigueros winner against Villarreal at the Estadio de Balaidos.
Oscar Garcia's side had won two and drawn three of their most recent La Liga matches before play was suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic, but that defeat against the Yellow Submarine means that Celta remain just one point clear of the relegation zone on 26 points.
Furthermore, Celta's failure to score against Villarreal means they have now gone three games without finding the back of the net, and their record of 22 goals this season is the joint-lowest in the league.
Garcia's side have managed to keep clean sheets in successive away matches against Granada and Getafe, but the Sky Blues have only managed one away win during the 2019-20 campaign - a 3-1 victory over Villarreal in November.
There is no denying that Celta are in a perilous position as the battle to avoid the drop gathers pace, but Garcia's men can move above Eibar with a victory should the Gunsmiths do the same to Athletic the same evening.
Real Valladolid La Liga form: DLWLLW
Celta Vigo La Liga form: WDWDDL
Team News
© Reuters
Valladolid defender Kiko Olivas was forced to watch from the sidelines against Leganes with muscular discomfort, but the Spaniard may be available for the midweek clash.
Sergio is likely to stick with the tried-and-tested 4-4-2 system that got the job done at the weekend, although Everton loanee Sandro Ramirez is pushing for a start up top.
As far as Celta are concerned, Garcia has no fresh injury concerns heading into Wednesday's game.
Goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez is the only absentee with a torn meniscus, but other than that Garcia has a fully-fit squad to pick from.
Denis Suarez came off the bench for the final few minutes against Villarreal and could be in line for a start against Valladolid, and fellow midfielder Okay Yokuslu is also in contention to feature from the opening whistle.
Real Valladolid possible starting lineup:
Masip; Moyano, Salisu, Olivas, Nacho; Plano, Alcaraz, Michel, Villa; Unal, Guardiola
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Blanco; Mallo, Murillo, Araujo, Olaza; Yokuslu, Suarez, Rafinha; Mina, Aspas, Sisto
We say: Real Valladolid 1-0 Celta Vigo
Both teams will be determined to move further away from the drop zone at this crucial stage of the season, but Celta have struggled on the road and Valladolid will be full of confidence following their victory over Leganes, so we are going for a narrow home win.
Ben Knapton
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 Valladolid win with a probability of 37.44%. A win for Celta Vigo had a probability of 34.65% and a draw had a probability of 27.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Valladolid win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.4%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.94%) and 2-0 (6.89%). The likeliest Celta Vigo win was 0-1 (10.86%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.13%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 9.4% likelihood.
