Celta Vigo vs Leganes Predictions

• Celta Vigo head into this Saturday’s game at Balaidos on a real high after beating fifth placed Sevilla 2-1 on Matchday 23, before battling to a 2-2 draw against leaders Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu last weekend.
• Celestes are unbeaten in their last five La Liga home matches (W1, D4).
• 19^th placed Leganes remain two points behind 17^th placed Celta after last weekend’s 0-0 stalemate at home to Real Betis. Los Pepineros travel to Balaidos in search of their first away win of the campaign (D5, L6).

An amazing week for Celta

Celta Vigo claimed a huge scalp when beating fifth placed Sevilla 2-1 at Balaidos on Matchday 23 to move out of the relegation zone, and Celestes backed up that result with a tremendous display against leaders Real Madrid last weekend.

Oscar Garcia’s men travelled to the Bernabeu with just six points on the board from 11 previous away outings this term, and on paper had little chance against a Real side unbeaten at home this season and 33 points superior in the La Liga standings.

It took just seven minutes though for Celta to make their mark through Fedor Smolov, and although Real eventually made their dominance count to go 2-1 up midway through the second half, Celta had the last word five minutes from time to earn a deserved 2-2 draw as Santi Mina lashed home Denis Suarez’ exquisite through ball, a sure-fire candidate for pass of the season.

Celta must now replicate recent showings this Saturday lunchtime, in what is a crucial relegation six-pointer against Leganes. With two points separating the sides, a win for the hosts could see them open up clear daylight on the bottom three. However, an away triumph would see Los Pepineros leapfrog their Celta who would fall back into the relegation zone.

Lega steady the ship

Celta’s excellent recent results against top opposition has given them a decent platform to beat the drop this term, but the teams below them have also been picking up points of late to stay within touching distance of the safety line.

It was vital for Leganes to take something from last weekend’s fixture at home to Betis after a lifeless display at Levante on Matchday 23 (2-0), and they managed to do just that as the sides played out a dull 0-0 stalemate at Butarque.

Lega are really building confidence at home with ten points now amassed in their last five fixtures, but they need to start picking up the odd result on the road to move out of danger, after failing to win any of their 11 away matches so far this season (D5, L6).

Balaidos would be the perfect venue to start for Lega considering a win would lift them out of the bottom three, but Javier Aguirre’s men are hard to fancy at around the 3/1 mark based on their travelling record thus far and lack of goals. Los Pepineros have netted just six times overall on the road this season, failing to score in six of their 11 games.

Celta to prove their class

It’s difficult to qualify the argument that Celta are in a false position considering they finished 17^th last term, but they have been gradually improving in recent weeks, culminating in wonderful performances against Sevilla and Real which undoubtedly indicate that Celestes are too good to go down.

They are unbeaten in their last five La Liga outings at home, and Balaidos should be bouncing this Saturday with fans confident that their side are at last turning the corner.

Celta have only won three of their 12 home games so far this season, but they look a good bet to post their fourth success of the campaign at Balaidos this weekend, in what should be a low scoring encounter.

We’ve already alluded to Leganes’ struggles in front of goal on the road, and that’s contributed to just three of their 11 away matches producing over 2.5 goals. With only three of Celta’s dozen home matches generating over 2.5 goals, this should be a low scoring affair, so we’re tipping up a 1-0 scoreline alongside our prediction for a Celta victory.