Celta Vigo vs Alaves
Spanish La Liga
Date: Friday, 19 October 2018
Kick-Off at 20:00 UK / 21:00 CET
Venue: Abanca-Balaidos (Vigo)
Teams and certainly supporters rarely like it when they are moved to the Friday night slot in La Liga but you will find few in the Alaves camp complaining here. They have the chance to climb from 6th to top of the Primera Division with victory in Vigo and that would be a fine achievement for a club that was generally expected to struggle. Celta would move to just one point behind their opponents if they can bag the win though so there’s plenty at stake here.
Celta Vigo were riding high near the top early on this term with a victory over Atletico Madrid signalling that things appeared to be very much heading in the right direction under new boss Antonio Mohamed. Things have tailed off a little since then with late goals conceded resulting in them dropping points they perhaps shouldn’t have. They’ve gone 5 games without a win overall since seeing of Atleti at Balaidos.
Alaves meanwhile come into this following a famous 1-0 win over Real Madrid. Manu Garcia’s 95th minute goal sent them into the international break on a huge high and was their 4th win in 6 matches. In time, it’s likely Alaves will fade away into mid-table as they don’t really have enough all-round quality to maintain a top six challenge but on current form, they look capable of being a threat in this match.
Certainly the potential for goals at each end exists. 7 of Celta’s 8 league games this term have seen both teams score. They’ve netted in every match so far under Mohamed but curiously their only clean sheet came in what on paper was their toughest match against Atleti. Even previously goalless Real Valladolid netted three times when they visited Balaidos and there should be chances in the this for the visitors.
Alaves were pretty good value for their win over Los Blancos and they’ve been carrying a real attacking threat away too. They scored five at Rayo a few weeks back and have scored at least once in all of their last six games, with both teams scoring in 4 of them. Overall backing Both Teams to Score again looks like a decent bet here.
In terms of the outcome, going for the Draw appeals. Celta are unbeaten at home in La Liga in 2018 so it’s still going to be very difficult for Alaves to get the win they need to go into 1st position. However Celta have drawn 6 of their last 8 in front of their own fans in the league and a repeat could well be on the cards here.
Celta Vigo vs Alaves: Head-to-head
Teams are level at nine wins apiece and eight draws ahead of 27th H2H encounter.
The home court advantage played a big role in the most recent set of head to head fixtures between these two likes.
Six of last seven H2H outings saw home teams snatching the spoils.
Four of last six meetings ended with fewer than two goals scored.
Celta Vigo vs Alaves: Prediction
We could witness a high-scoring scenario here, opposite to the above mentioned recent head to head trend. Both managers have a strong firepower on display in their ranks. Iago Aspas and Maxi Gomez have both been clinical up front so far in the season. They combined nine goals in eight matches and should have room to deliver here knowing Babazorros kept just one clean sheet in four away games this term.
Celta play attacking-minded football this season under Antonio Mohamed. Seven of their eight La Liga games saw goals scored at both ends. The value is thus fine with the BTTS pick set at 1.80 odds. Value-seekers can chase the draw at 3.60 since three of Celta’s four home matches in Primera ended without a winner this season.