Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo

La Liga leaders Real Madrid will be looking to extend their 11-game unbeaten home league run against Celta Vigo (W10, D1) when the two sides meet at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

Real Madrid performed well below their high standards in their midweek Champions League home clash against RB Leipzig (1-1) but still did enough to secure a quarter-final qualification. Yet a third stalemate across their last four competitive games (W1) left fans wondering whether Los Blancos are running out of steam. After a failed appeal against Jude Bellingham’s red card in last week’s 2-2 draw at Valencia, Madrid’s bid to uphold a five-point lead at La Liga’s summit faces a stern test. With Celta fighting for their lives in the lower reaches, Carlo Ancelotti’s side can’t take anything for granted despite winning their last seven league H2Hs, including a narrow 1-0 triumph in August’s reverse fixture. Bellingham, who netted a winner in that encounter, will sit this one out.

The Englisman’s absence might inspire confidence with Rafael Benitez’s camp amid Celta’s ferocious battle for survival. Last week’s hard-earned 1-0 home win against basement boys Almeria lifted Los Celticos outside the bottom three, opening a five-point gap between them and 18th-placed Cadiz. But with Cadiz beating Atletico Madrid at home, the visitors’ lead now stands at two points, highlighting the importance of defying a dreadful away league record (W2, D5, L6). Benitez’s men have blown hot and cold across their last three La Liga travels (W1, D1, L1). High scoring has been a common theme in that sequence, with all three matches featuring over 2.5 goals, while both games won/lost saw the winner on the day score precisely three goals.