27 Janvier 2025. 22h00. Vitoria. Stade Mendizorrotza.
La Liga 2024-25. Day 21
“Alaves” (Vitoria) – “Celta” (Vigo)
Suspended: Antonio Blanco – Oscar Mingueza
Wounded: Antonio Sivera – Alfon Gonzalez, Iago Aspas
Uncertain : Joan Jordan (“Alaves”)
At risk of suspension: Abdel Abkar – Ilaix Moriba
“ALAVES”
The Babazorros won their first victory under Eduardo Coudet last weekend, ending a long series of seven victory matches, during which the Basques accumulated only four points. A draw against Leganes at the end of February led to the dismissal of Luis Garcia Plaza, replaced by the Argentinian coach. For his first match, Alaves was eliminated from Copa del Rey by Deportivo Minera, a team of fourth division, followed by three consecutive draws in La Liga: 2-2 outside against Osasuna and Valence, and 1-1 at home during a derby against Athletic.
-The new year started for the Eduardo Coudet team with a disappointing 0-1 at home against Girona. This match seemed to be heading for a goalless draw until the Catalans scored by additional time, seizing three points. However, last weekend, the Babazorros redeemed themselves fully by winning unexpectedly but deserved a victory on the move against Betis with a 3-1 score. The man of the match was the experienced striker Kike Garcia, author of a hat -trick. Kike opened the scoring by converting a penalty he himself obtained, then added two other goals in four minutes to the end. At that time, Alaves played with one more man due to an imprudent red card given to Roma Perro. Thanks to this victory, the Basques have left the relegation zone, but their advance is currently only zero point – they only exceed the Espanyol thanks to a better difference in goals.
“Celta”
The Galicians, who mainly impressed by the quality of their game during the first half of the season (although not always with the results), recently lost points more often than they won, and find themselves Now just four points above the relegation area. The results require urgent improvement, otherwise they may slip into the fight for their survival, which is often very difficult to avoid.
In their last match of the previous year, the team of Claudio Giráldez easily won a 2-0 victory against Real Sociedad at home, and in the first game of the new year, she obtained a victory in forceps in COPA Del Rey against Racing Santander, one of the Liga 2 leaders, taking advantage of a digital advantage. The goal of the victory was scored by the winger Alfon Gonzalez, who, unfortunately, was injured in the next match. This next match saw Celta lose 1-2 outside against Rayo Vallecano in Madrid. A few days later, the Celts once again visited the capital, and once again, they lost – 2-5 against Real Madrid in overtime – being eliminated from the Copa del Rey. Last weekend, Claudio Giráldez’s team underwent a new championship defeat, this time at home, where they are generally effective. However, this time, the opponent, the Athletic Bilbao, capitalized more effectively on its occasions, winning the 2-1 match.
“ALAVES” – “Celta” : Teams planned
For Alaves, the keeper Antonio Sivera is injured, and the central midfielder Antonio Blanco is suspended. The participation of the experienced midfielder Joan Jordan in the match is currently uncertain. In the meantime, for Celta, they will be deprived of one of their key players, the side Oscar Mingueza, due to a suspension for their next two matches. The attackers Alfon Gonzalez and the legendary Iago Aspas also remain away.
“ALAVES” – “Celta” : Prediction of experts
Years ago, Eduardo Coudet saved Celta from relegation, and he now finds himself faced with a similar task but with Alaves. He left Vigo without scandal, but his dismissal was quite unexpected, so perhaps Coudet nourishes resentments towards the Galicians, which adds to the intrigue of this already captivating shock. At the start of the season, the Celts made an impressive return by winning 2-1 against the Babazorros at home with goals from Williot Swedberg and Iago Aspas (with Kike Garcia Marquant for visitors), and they will like to replicate this result.
The previous match at Mendizorrotza ended with a convincing 3-0 victory for the hosts, but on the whole, in recent years, Celta has historically taken over this opponent-they have recorded a series of five consecutive victories ( Four of them under Eduardo Coudet) since 2020, and have lost only one of the eight games since then. However, during the current campaign, the Celts struggled outside, only achieving a victory in nine matches, with seven defeats. Theoretically, the Galicians could obtain three points at the Mendizorrotza, but for any reason, I do not think it will happen. A draw, which would be lucky, seems less likely than a new defeat. However, I think visitors will mark, so bet on an exchange of goals seems sensible. As for the actual prediction, I lean for a non-deafus of Alaves, slightly promoting a narrow victory for the hosts.
