The La Liga Round 18 match between Celta and Valencia will take place on 3 January at the Balaídos Stadium in Vigo. Celta vs Valencia: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Celta
Celta continue their push for a European place. In the last round they drew 0-0 with Oviedo, extending their unbeaten run in La Liga to three matches (2 wins, 1 draw). All three games were clean sheets, although prior to this run the club had kept only one shutout in their previous 16 league games. Over the last five matches in the competition Celta have conceded just one goal, the best defensive record in the division. They remain seventh in the table, but their gap to sixth has grown to five points.
- At home this season in La Liga Celta have picked up 8 points; only Oviedo (7) and Levante (2) have fewer.
- At least one team failed to score in five of Celta's previous La Liga matches.
- Celta have scored in seven of their last eight home league games.
Probable Celta lineup (3-4-3)*
Andrei Radu – Carl Starfelt, Manu Fernández, Marcos Alonso – Sergio Carreira, Fran Beltrán, Miguel Román, Javi Rueda – Wiliot Svedberg, Ferran Jutglà, Bryan Zaragoza.
Defender Carlos Domínguez and forward Pablo Durán are sidelined through injury.
Valencia
Before the winter break Valencia drew 1-1 with Mallorca. On the one hand, Valencia have avoided defeat in five of their last six La Liga matches (1 win, 4 draws). On the other, they have won just once in the past 12 rounds, beating Levante 1-0. As a result, Carlos Corberán's side sit 17th in the table, only one point above Girona in the relegation zone. Valencia have now scored in six consecutive league games, but in each of those matches they have managed just one goal.
- Valencia have conceded 26 goals so far this season, a worse record than only Levante (29) and Girona (33).
- The club are yet to win away this term (3 draws, 5 defeats).
- Both teams scored in five of Valencia's last six La Liga matches.
Probable Valencia lineup (4-4-2)*
Julen Agirrezabala – Thierry Correia, César Tarrega, José Manuel Copete, José Luis Gayà – Filip Ugrinic, Pepelu, Luis Rioja, André Almeida – Lucas Beltrán, Hugo Duro.
Goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski and defender Eraj Jemert are unavailable due to injury.
Prediction for Celta vs Valencia
Celta have been solid at the back recently and tend to produce low-scoring affairs: in eight of their last ten La Liga games there were no more than three goals, and in seven of those matches there were one or two goals only. Valencia, meanwhile, have been scrappy — they have collected points regularly but rarely won, and over their last six league games no more than three goals were scored, with five of those fixtures producing just one or two goals.
Given both teams' recent trends and Valencia's struggles on the road, a cautious, low-scoring game is likely. Prediction – Celta to win or draw and under 3.5 goals
*The probable line-ups reflect each side's starting XI from their most recent match in this competition.
