Derby of the Round 9 will happen at Balaidos, where in-form Celta look to hurt Real Madrid’s title bid and steady defence with their aggressive gameplay.
Celta continue their fantastic La Liga start, as they sit at the second place in the standings, tied in points with Barcelona and Real Madrid, the latter being their next opponents at Balaidos. A team from Galicia is playing incredible football, dominating in possession and chances, and, most importantly, winning matches, such was the one against Villarreal last weekend at El Madrigal, when Toto Berizzo’s team showed their form is unquestionable at the moment, as they grabbed a huge three points and victory with another Nolito goal at the death. Celestes are galopping fast, and after they thrashed Barcelona at Balaidos in the Round 5, the time has come for them to welcome the other part of ‘starred duo’ in Vigo, and hope for the repeat of the performances they are showing so far. With Fontas back at his disposal, Berizzo will have all his players available for the big match.
As for the visitors from Madrid, Rafael Benitez must learn from the mistakes of others who have played against Celta, and prepare his team for a very hard match. With a steady defence that conceded only two goals in first eight matches, Cristiano Ronaldo who just became all-time top Real Madrid goalscorer eager to continue in the same way, and, last but not the least, Luka Modric fit again and ready to play, Real Madrid look dangerous and will be favourites even against Celta playing this good.
Modric is ready to play indeed, but Bale, Carvajal, James and Pepe aren’t, and will be missed for a currently leading La Liga side, while Kovacic and Benzema remain doubtful.
Head to Head:
Real Madrid are a dominant side in the Head to Head department, with 62 wins out of 113 encounters, while Celta have won 33 times. Last season Madrid club has won both of the matches played, with a 3-0 victory in Madrid and 2-4 comeback after going behind at Balaidos.
Match facts:
- Celta have lost six of their last seven La Liga games against Real Madrid (W1).
- Celta have gone seven home games in a row without a defeat. They haven’t managed eight or more in a row since 2003 (nine).
- Celta are the team to have conceded the most goals in top-flight history against Real Madrid (214 goals).
- However, they are also the team to have scored the most against Real Madrid in the top-flight (130 goals).
- Cristiano Ronaldo has scored eight goals in his last five La Liga games against Celta.
- Rafael Benitez hasn’t lost as Real Madrid manager in La Liga yet – the last manager to have lasted so long without a defeat as their boss was Jose Mourinho (13 La Liga games).
- In their last La Liga game against Levante, Cristiano Ronaldo became Real Madrid’s all-time top goalscorer (324 goals).
- Should Real Madrid keep a clean sheet in this game they’ll equal their lowest number of goals conceded in the opening nine games of a Liga season. In 1987-88, they conceded just twice in their opening nine games.
Team news:
Celta: –
Real Madrid: Injured – Bale, Carvajal, James, Pepe; Doubtful – Benzema, Kovacic.
Possible lineups:
Celta: Alvarez; Mallo, Cabral, Fontas, Castro; Wass, Fernandez, Hernandez; Orellana, Aspas, Nolito.
Real Madrid: Navas; Danilo, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Kroos, Modric, Casemiro; Isco, Bale, Cristiano.
From : SS.com
