Celta Vigo vs Athletic Bilbao 08/01/19

08 January 2019

Celta Vigo and Athletic Bilbao return to La Liga action this Monday, as the Celtics welcome the Basque side to the Estadio de Balaidos looking to bounce back from a 2-0 road defeat to Barcelona in their final match in 2018.

Winless in their last two La Liga outings (D1, L1), the Sky Blues currently trail the Europe promotion zone by five points. Moreover, the Celtics have failed to hit the back of the net twice in a row for the first time this season. Celta’s consistency problems have seen them lose two of their last five home LL clashes. Additionally, Celta’s defensive frailties have seen them concede in five out of nine games in front of the home crowd although allowing over 1.5 goals only twice in the process. However, Miguel Cardoso’s men are unbeaten in the previous two home matches (W1, D1) having managed to keep a clean sheet in the run. Meanwhile, Iago Aspas and co. have scored over 1.5 goals in five home encounters so far, failing to find the back of the net two times in the run.

Meanwhile, Athletic Bilbao’s disastrous start of the season currently sees them sitting in the relegation zone as they reside one of two teams that achieved just two wins after the opening 17 league fixtures. Along with Valencia, the Lions (10) have played out more draws than any other team in the Spanish top flight, being involved in a pair of stalemates in their last two La Liga clashes. Furthermore, Gaizka Garitano’s men are still searching for their elusive first road victory this term, having played out five draws while suffering five defeats on eight road trips so far. Before a 0-0 draw with Deportivo Alaves last time out, the Rojiblancos have failed to keep a clean sheet in seven successive road games. Athletic Bilbao’s main problem relates to their poor attacking form that has seen them bagged just 16 goals so far, which is the joint-worst record in La Liga at the moment.

Four of the last five H2H meetings between the two have produced over 2.5 goals, with Celta avoiding a failure two times in a row (W1, D1) after three consecutive defeats.

Provisional line-up – Celta Vigo:

Gk: Ruben Blanco Defense: Hugo Mallo – David Costas – Araujo – Robert Mazan Midfield: Brais Mendez – Jozabed – Okay – Boufal Attack: Emre Mor – Maxi Gomez

Provisional line-up – Athletic Bilbao:

Gk: Herrerin Defense: Berchiche – Capa – Inigo Martinez – Alvarez Midfield: Dani Garcia – Benat – Raul Garcia Attack: Muniain – Aduriz – Inaki Williams