Celta Vigo vs Espanyol Match Analysis and Prediction

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La Liga action returns to the fold this weekend with Celta Vigo taking on Espanyol in the first fixture of matchday 18 at the Municipal de Balaidos on Friday night with kickoff at 23:00.

Celta Vigo had an impressive campaign last season finish in the eighth on 53 points but have found it difficult to build consistency this season with the club picking four wins, five draws and suffering eight defeats in their 17 La Liga matches to collect 17 points which has left them sitting in 14^th in the bottom half with just four points above the relegation zone.

Celta have been in a bit of a slump recently in La Liga as they have only claimed one win from their last five league matches, picking up three draws and one defeat in the run and are coming off a 0-0 draw against Mallorca and prior to that they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Valencia at home.

However, the Sky Blues head into the math in a good form having only lost one of their last six across all competitions, winning three and drawing two in the process and are coming off a 2-1 win at Andorra in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday night.

Eduardo Coudet’s side will therefore be looking to build on the win as they desperately fight for the three points here to take from the five that are keeping them in the bottom half.

Meanwhile following their promotion to La Liga this season, Espanyol will be happy with where they are now after 17 matches. The Catalans have claimed six wins, seven draws and six defeats from their 17 matches to collect 23 points which have left them sitting in ninth, with just four points outside the European places.

They head into the game in a good form having just lost one of their five matches across all competitions and are coming off back-to-back victories against Levante in La Liga last weekend and Palencia Cristo Atletico in the Copa del Rey last on Tuesday.

A win on Friday will take them above Barcelona in the league standings and thus Espanyol will come here aiming for the three points as they look to keep their momentum going.

Celta Vigo vs Espanyol head to head

Both sides have met in 45 encounters since 1994 with Celta Vigo claiming 15 victories while Espanyol have claimed 14 victories and there have been 16 draws.