After a heartbreaking end to this season’s Champions League campaign, Atlético Madrid (19-6-9, 63 points) have to regroup and shift their focus to the remaining four matches in LaLiga. The push to finish third begins when Atlético host Celta Vigo (12-11-11, 47 points) on Saturday evening.
The focus since February for Diego Simeone’s men had been to stay within the Champions League places in LaLiga, a goal that has been achieved as Atlético on Thursday secured a place in next season’s edition of the competition.
However, Atleti came up short in both cups, and so the Rojiblancos now have four games to overtake third-place Villarreal, who have a five-point advantage entering round 35.
With Bayern Munich losing to PSG in the Champions League, and Rayo Vallecano defeating Strasbourg to reach the Conference League final, Spain has received a fifth Champions League spot for next season — and Celta can push Real Betis to the end for fifth place, which now carries with it an immense reward.
As things stand, Celta will qualify to the Europa League’s league phase. However, being just six points off Real Betis in fifth, Claudio Giráldez’s squad are going to be aiming for more. Either way, the Celtiña look to be in a good spot to improve from their seventh place finish last season and look primed to participate in a European competition next season after reaching the Europa league quarterfinals this year.
Celta’s players to watch include Borja Iglesias, the Spain international with 13 goals this season. Newcomers Ilaix Moriba and Ferran Jutglà, from RB Leipzig and Club Brugge respectively, have also impressed in their debut seasons at the club.
Miguel Román, Matías Vecino and Carl Starfelt will miss the match through their respective injuries, and Javi Rueda will be absent due to yellow card accumulation.
Team news
Coming off Tuesday’s defeat against Arsenal, many were confused as to why Julián Alvarez was subbed off prior to the full-time whistle. The knock he suffered in the first leg of that time appeared to be bothering him again, and he already has been ruled out for Saturday’s game.
In more bad news on the injury front, Johnny Cardoso had to retire from Thursday’s training session with a high-grade ankle sprain. The American’s first season at the club comes to an end, and his World Cup participation could be at risk too.
Additional absentees from training are Pablo Barrios, Nico González and Giuliano Simeone. While the injuries to Barrios and Nico are not new, it’s interesting to see Giuliano not training as normal. The 23-year-old’s form has taken a nosedive in the second half of the season, and a nagging injury could be the cause.
After impressing in his first team debut, Iker Luque appears close to joining Rayo Vallecano, either on loan or via a purchase of 50 percent of his rights. The 20-year-old attacker won’t be the last of the many cantera debutants this season to draw Primera interest in the summer.
Historical matchup
Atlético hold a 75-22-24 record in LaLiga against Celta de Vigo. Os Celestes have not beaten Atleti in LaLiga since the 2018/19 season, and they have not beaten the Rojiblancos away in the league since the 2006/07 season. In their last ten matchups against Celta de Vigo, Atleti holds a 7-3-0 record.
The last time these two clubs faced off was earlier this season in LaLiga. The match ended 1-1 at the
Estadio de Balaídos.
Prediction: 3-1, Atleti win. Antoine Griezmann loves to score against Celta de Vigo, with 11 total goals, so look for a goal from him. Expect Alexander Sørloth to score as well, I predict that he scores a brace. Iglesias will score for the visitors.
Possible XI: Oblak; Ruggeri, Hancko, Pubill, Molina; Koke, Llorente, Baena, Almada; Griezmann, Sørloth.
Notable players who have represented both clubs
Diego Costa, Mario Suárez (who might be covering this match on ESPN), Javi Galán, Augusto Fernández and Txomin Nagore.
