Two teams in good form meet on June 27, 2020, in the Spanish La Liga when defending champions Barcelona visits Celta Vigo at the Municipal de Balaidos. Game time is at 11:00 am EST and the match will be aired live via beIN Sports.
Heading to Thursday’s schedule, Barcelona sits in second place in the Spanish table with 68 points, same as rival Real Madrid. However, because the Los Blancos hold the head to head advantage, Barcelona needs to get as many points possible while hoping that Real Madrid falters along the way. On the other hand, Celta Vigo is seven points clear of the relegation zone. Their recent run of success has created a separation between them and 18th place Mallorca who are in the first relegation spot.
Celta Vigo has displayed good form as of late as they have won back to back matches by an aggregate score of 7-0. This recent run has enabled Celta to create space between them and the relegation zone. They are currently safe at 16th place with a record of 7 wins, 12 draws, and 12 losses for a total of 33 points which is seven clear of Mallorca who are in the first relegation spot.
In their last assignment, Celta picked up a surprising 1-0 road win over Champions League contenders Real Sociedad. Iago Aspas converted on a penalty in the 45th minute and that was all they needed to pick up the three points. Celta controlled 42% of ball possession while making 74% of the correct passes with one shot on goal and 3 corner kicks.
Aspas leads the team with a total of 11 goals this term while Santi Mina and Rafinha have scored four goals each. Denis Suarez leads Celta Vigo with a total of five assists while netting once. Lucas Olaza has three assists and one goal while Aspas also has two assists for Celta.
Celta is the 7th best defensive team in Spain with a total of 35 goals conceded. However, they have only scored a total of 29 goals on the year which is good for 16th place in the La Liga. Celta is also tied for 11th with a total of 21 assists this year while their goal difference of -6 also puts them in 11th place overall.
Barcelona is unbeaten in four games since the restart of the season. But after their first match two weeks ago, they have failed to impress although they have not conceded a single game during that stretch. The defending Spanish champions are tied with Real Madrid on points but are in second place in the table because the Los Blancos own the season tie-breaker.
In their last outing, Barcelona emerged with a 1-0 home win over Athletic Bilbao in a mediocre performance. Lionel Messi assisted an Ivan Rakitic goal in the 71st minute that turned out to be the winning goal for the home team. Barca controlled 78% of possession time while completing 87% of the correct passes. They also had four shots on goal and six corner kicks against Athletic Bilbao.
Lionel Messia leads the Barcelona scoring with a total of 21 goals scored this year. Luis Suarez has added 11 goals while Anthony Griezmann has netted 8 times. Messi also leads the team with a total of 15 assists while Suarez has 8 assists and Griezmann with four assists as well.
Barcelona is the top goal-scoring team in the Spanish league with a total of 70 goals scored. They are ranked 5th in defense with a total of 31 goals conceded this season. Barca is also the top passing team with 52 assists this term while they also own the best goal difference in La Liga at +39.
These two teams have met in a total of 115 head to head matches. Barcelona has dominated the matchup with a record of 64-28-23 and they also won the reverse fixture 4-1 in November 2019. Celta Vigo is the 6th worst home club in Spain with a record of 5-5-5 and a total of 20 points earned from their home matches. On the other hand, Barcelona is the 4th best away club in La Liga with a record of 6-4-5 and 22 points earned from their road matches.
Celta is in good form right now as they have lost only one of their last nine matches. Despite that, their offense has sputtered as they have scored only 29 goals this season. On the other hand, Barcelona is in a fight with Real Madrid for the title as they are behind the standings although they have the same number of points. This isn’t the same Barcelona team that dominated the Primera Liga last season.
Celta Vigo won their last home game against Barcelona and they have found a good amount of success against the Catalan giants when playing at their home field. However, there will be no fans that will be cheering them on this time around. Lionel Messi is on the verge of scoring his 700th career goal but has struggled in his last two outings. Celta is in good form but I don’t think they can keep a clean sheet against a powerhouse like Barca.
Prediction: Barcelona (-147)
Over 2.5
+100
Under 2.5
-120
Odds from BetOnline as of 06/25/2020
Barcelona has seen a total of under 2.5 in each of their last three assignment. Only four of the 15 La Liga matches played at this venue this season have seen a total of 2.5 goals while Celta Vigo’s matches have averaged just 2.1 goals, while their home games have seen an average score of 1.9 goals. With how Celta Vigo has scored this season, I don’t trust them to help Barcelona in the scoring department.
Prediction: Under 2.5 (-120)
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