Celta Vigo vs Atletico Madrid
After winning the La Liga title last season, the pressure is on for Atletico Madrid as their title defence starts when they head on over to the Balaidos to face Celta Vigo.
Last term was Atletico Madrid’s first domestic crown since the 2014 season and they’ll hope to break the duopoly of Real Madrid and Barcelona for now by completing a repeat for the first time since the 1951 season.
However, their opponents in Celta Vigo won’t be a walk in the park for them considering their ascent late last year.
Celta Vigo finished at eighth place and they were a couple of places away from qualifying for European football. Los Celestes’ late run last term was encouraging and they’ll be aiming to build off of their momentum with a positive result at home this Sunday.
The first matchday of La Liga promises to excite our football fans and the arenas should be packed once more. So without further ado, here is our preview for the match between Celta Vigo and Atletico Madrid.
Talking Points
Can Celta Vigo contend for European football?
Celta Vigo’s remarkable rise at the table has been one of the more underrated storylines last season, and they’ll aim to make headlines in the La Liga 2021 news with a win over Atletico Madrid this week.
Since Eduardo Coudet took charge at the helm last November, Celta Vigo have turned into one of the exciting attacking sides of Spanish top-flight with their swashbuckling, run-and-gun style of play.
Normally known as a club endangered in the drop zone, Chacho guided Celta Vigo to become a club that can contend for an European football qualification and that will be their main focus this term.
Spearheading the charge will be the evergreen Iago Aspas as always since he was their top scoring threat last term with 14 goals and 13 assists.
He’ll be joined by the exuberant duo of Santi Mina and Brais Mendez, who combined for 21 goals and three assists last season.
Joao Felix’s health is a huge question mark for Atletico Madrid
My SBOTOP colleague listed five reasons why Atletico Madrid can repeat, and he listed Joao Felix as their x-factor.
Diego Simeone has been pushing Joao Felix hard since he was touted before as the next big thing. However, despite doing his part, the young Portuguese has been bit by the injury bug these past two seasons.
Questions about his durability continue to linger given his injury history, especially after receiving word that the prodigious centre-forward is expected to sit out the next two weeks since he just had surgery on his ankle this summer.
Los Rojiblancos cannot expect Luis Suarez to be as prolific as last season, so they must find a workaround starting this weekend at the Balaidos.
Fortunately for them, they were able to add a creative source in Rodrigo De Paul from Udinese and he’ll hold it down in the middle since Saul Niguez appears to be on his way out.
In addition, Atletico Madrid are reportedly keen on bolstering their frontline by pursuing Dusan Vlahovic — who scored 21 goals and three assists for Fiorentina last term — but they will be rivalled by Tottenham and Arsenal.
History
Atletico Madrid have had the better of Celta Vigo in the overall head-to-heads prior to this Sunday’s fixture.
In their last 33 games together, Los Rojiblancos won 16 times while Los Celestes only won in nine along with eight draws.
Celta Vigo, though, have only lost twice in their last nine meetings with Atletico Madrid (W1, D3) after six straight losses between 2016 to 2018.
However, they’ve been bad at the opening day since they’ve yet to win one since 2015 (D2, L3). On the other hand, Diego Simeone’s men are unbeaten in their last 11 curtain-raisers (W5, D6).
Betting Tip
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Celta Vigo vs Atletico Madrid | Atletico Madrid Asian Handicap -0.25 @ 1.72 |
| August 15, 23:30 (GMT+8) |
The La Liga 2021 odds have Atletico Madrid installed as the winners for this game, but it’ll be closer than most would expect.
The defending La Liga champions are pegged at 2.00 to win, while the hosts are at 3.60 and chances for a draw are at 3.40 in the 1X2 market.
This fixture is a clash of styles with the hosts aggressive for hunting goals while the visitors are a force to be reckoned with due to their methodical style of play.
Atletico Madrid are the defending champions for a reason, and their overall depth and quality should be enough to beat the hosts en route to their first victory of the 2021/22 season.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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