Real Madrid will be looking to record their third La Liga victory of the season when they welcome Celta Vigo to the newly-refurbished Bernabeu on Sunday night.
Los Blancos currently sit atop the table with seven points from their first three matches, while Celta have collected just a single point from their three fixtures to sit down in 18th position.
Match preview
© Reuters
After more than 18 months of renovation work, Real Madrid's Bernabeu stadium will host a football match once again this weekend, with Celta making the trip to the Spanish capital; it will be the first game at the famous arena since Los Blancos recorded a 2-0 win over Barcelona in March 2020.
A lot has changed at the club since then, with various key figures moving on, but Carlo Ancelotti has made an encouraging start to his second spell as head coach, with a total of seven points from three matches leaving Real Madrid at the top of the table heading into the next set of fixtures.
Los Blancos opened their 2021-22 campaign with an impressive 4-1 victory over Alaves before playing out an enthralling 3-3 draw with Levante on August 22.
Real Madrid's third away league fixture in a row ended in a 1-0 win over Real Betis before the international break, with Dani Carvajal's second-half effort proving to be the difference between the two sides in Seville.
The capital giants are now back on home soil and are entering a busy run of matches, with their Champions League group-stage campaign due to begin away to Inter Milan next week, while they will also take on Valencia, Mallorca and Villarreal in the league over the next couple of weeks.
© Reuters
Celta, meanwhile, have made a disappointing start to the new season, picking up just one point from their first three fixtures, which has left them down in 18th position in the table.
The Sky Blues put in a strong performance against Atletico Madrid in their first match before losing 2-1, and they were then held to a goalless draw by Osasuna on August 23; Celta will enter this match off the back of another disappointing result, having suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Athletic Bilbao.
Eduardo Coudet's side enjoyed an impressive 2020-21 campaign, claiming 53 points from their 38 matches to finish in eighth position, just five points behind seventh-place Villarreal, and eighth actually represented the club's highest final placing in Spain's top flight since the 2015-16 season.
Celta's start to the new campaign has been tough, but they do have some winnable matches on paper after this weekend's clash at the Bernabeu, and it would be a huge surprise to see them in any sort of relegation trouble this term due to the quality that is present in the squad at Balaidos.
- W
- D
- W
- L
- D
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Real Madrid will again be without the services of Dani Ceballos and Ferland Mendy this weekend, while Toni Kroos is unlikely to be risked due to his recent injury problems.
Luka Modric and Nacho have both trained this week, though, and are therefore in contention to play, while Marcelo could make his return to the starting XI at left-back.
Ancelotti has decisions to make when it comes to the forward areas; Karim Benzema is a certain starter, but there are plenty of options in the wide areas.
Vinicius Junior could just get the nod over Eden Hazard to feature on the left, while Gareth Bale has been given a new lease of life at the club this term and could start on the right for the home side.
French youngster Eduardo Camavinga is also in contention to make his debut, having arrived from Rennes in the latter stages of the summer transfer window.
Celta, meanwhile, are again expected to be without the services of Kevin Vazquez due to a fractured jaw, but Jose Fontan and Miguel Baeza could be in contention to make their return from injuries.
Head coach Coudet is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack following the home loss to Athletic, so it should again be a 4-1-3-2 formation for the Sky Blues.
Iago Aspas and Santi Mina are certain starters in the final third of the field, while Renato Tapia, Nolito, Denis Suarez and Brais Mendez should also all feature for the visitors.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Marcelo; Valverde, Casemiro, Modric; Bale, Benzema, Vinicius
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Dituro; Mallo, Araujo, Murillo, Galan; Tapia; Mendez, Suarez, Nolito; Mina, Aspas
We say: Real Madrid 2-0 Celta Vigo
Celta have found it difficult to impress in the early stages of the new season, and this weekend's contest is a tough assignment for the out-of-form side. Los Blancos should be boosted by their return to home soil, and we are expecting Ancelotti's side to collect all three points in routine fashion.
Top tip
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Real Madrid win with a probability of 65.81%. A draw had a probability of 21.5% and a win for Celta Vigo had a probability of 12.66%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Madrid win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.97%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (13.86%) and 2-1 (9.2%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.93%), while for a Celta Vigo win it was 0-1 (5.37%). The actual scoreline of 5-2 was predicted with a 0.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Real Madrid would win this match.
