Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo Predictions

• Real Madrid have scored fewer than three goals in eight of their 13 home league games this season
• Real Madrid have scored fewer than three goals in the last three La Liga games that Jude Bellingham has missed
• Celta Vigo have conceded fewer than three goals in eight of their last nine league games

Celta catch a break with Bellingham banned

Estadio Santiago Bernabeu has not been a happy hunting ground for Celta Vigo, but the visitors may feel they have a chance of taking a point from Sunday’s trip to face Real Madrid.

The La Liga leaders will be without their leading light Jude Bellingham for the match as he begins a two-game domestic ban and his influence has been missed by Real recently.

The Englishman missed a couple of matches with an ankle injury last month and Real Madrid did not fire on all – or even half – of their cylinders, drawing 1-1 at Rayo Vallecano and edging past struggling Sevilla 1-0 at home.

Benitez’s side will stick bodies behind the ball

Rafa Benitez’s side will fancy their chances of keeping things tight for longer than has usually been possible for a team that has not won a league game at Real’s ground in 18 years. Some of the scorelines in their eight straight La Liga defeats at the Bernabeu have been embarrassing, but they did only go down 2-0 last term while it took an 81st-minute winner from Bellingham to break their resolve in Vigo earlier this season.

Celta are in a tense relegation battle and will surely stick bodies behind the ball to limit the possible damage Real can do, but that damage is already likely to be severely limited by the absence of Bellingham, who has scored 16 goals in 22 league appearances this season.