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

Villarreal will be aiming to make it three straight wins at the start of the 2025-26 La Liga campaign when they travel to Celta Vigo on Sunday afternoon.

The Yellow Submarine are currently top of the La Liga table, boasting six points from their first two matches, while Celta are down in 13th, picking up two points from their opening three fixtures.

Match preview

Celta played the third game of their La Liga season on Wednesday night, with the fixture against Real Betis being brought forward from gameweek six, as both will be involved in the league phase of the Europa League.

The clash finished 1-1, with Hugo Alvarez cancelling out an effort from Marc Bartra, and it was the team's second draw of the campaign, having also played out a 1-1 with Mallorca on August 23.

Claudio Giraldez's side opened their season with a 2-0 home defeat to Getafe, so two points have been collected from three games, which has left them in 13th spot in the table.

Celta finished seventh in Spain's top flight last term, securing direct qualification for the league phase of the Europa League, and it will be fascinating to see how the Sky Blues perform in the competition this term.

The Vigo outfit actually recorded a 3-0 victory over Villarreal when the two sides last locked horns in April of this year, and they have won their last two home fixtures against the Yellow Submarine.

Villarreal have conceded six times in their last two La Liga visits to Celta, losing both of those matches, but they did win a seven-goal thriller against the Sky Blues at home last term.

The Yellow Submarine enjoyed an impressive 2024-25 La Liga season, finishing in fifth spot in the table, boasting a record of 20 wins, 10 draws and eight defeats from their 38 matches to collect 70 points.

Villarreal will play in the league phase of this season's Champions League, with matches confirmed against Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City, Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus, Ajax, Tottenham Hotspur, FC Copenhagen and Pafos FC, so it will be be a fascinating European campaign.

Marcelino's side have made a strong start to their 2025-26 La Liga season, beating Real Oviedo 2-0 in their campaign opener before thumping Girona 5-0 last time out, with six points leaving them at the top of the table.

Villarreal will again be expecting to finish in the Champions League spots come the end of the campaign, and it will be fascinating to see whether they can end the season ahead of the likes of Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao.

Celta Vigo La Liga form:

LDD

Villarreal La Liga form:

Team News

Celta will be without the services of Carl Starfelt through injury, but the home side are otherwise in strong shape, with no fresh issues being reported from their clash with Real Betis.

Hugo Alvarez and Javi Rueda are the only two players to score for Celta this season, and the pair will again be in the XI on Sunday, while Ferran Jutgla should continue in the final third of the field.

Iago Aspas is still going strong at the age of 38, and he is set to feature in attack for the hosts.

As for Villarreal, Logan Costa, Willy Kambwala, Gerard Moreno and Pau Cabanes are out of the match through injury, but there is a chance that Ayoze Perez could be back in the squad.

Tajon Buchanan scored a hat-trick against Girona last time out, and he will again operate off the right, while Nicolas Pepe and Karl Etta Eyong are set to feature through the middle.

There has been a host of speculation surrounding Eyong's future of late, but the 21-year-old is expected to remain with Villarreal beyond the end of this summer's transfer window.

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:

Radu; Fernandez, Dominguez, Alonso; Rueda, Moriba, Beltran, Carreira; Aspas, Jutgla, Alvarez

Villarreal possible starting lineup:

Junior; Mourino, Foyth, Martin, Cardona; Buchanan, Comesana, Gueye, Moleiro; Pepe, Eyong

We say: Celta Vigo 1-2 Villarreal

Villarreal have been excellent in the early stages of the season, but this will be a test for the Yellow Submarine.

Celta have won their last two home league games against Villarreal, and we are expecting a tight match on Sunday, but the visitors should be able to navigate their way to all three points.

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