Celta Vigo host reigning La Liga champions Real Madrid in the Spanish top flight on Saturday night.
The Galicians were denied a Matchday 1 victory with a 98th-minute penalty that Oscar Mingueza conceded six minutes after coming off the bench on his debut against Espanyol.
David Alaba was barely on the pitch for six seconds before curling Real Madrid’s winning free-kick into the top corner in Almeria last weekend.
Here’s everything you need to know about the encounter between two teams with varying substitution success.
Where can you watch Celta Vigo’s best moments against Real Madrid?
H2H Results (Last Five Matches)
Celta Vigo: 0 wins
Real Madrid: 4 wins
Prints: 1
Current form (last five games)
Celta Vigo: WLDLD
Real Madrid: LDWWW
Celta Vigo Team News
While the heartbreaking manner in which Celta lost two points last weekend was a notable downside, on the plus side no one was hurt. Eduardo Coudet has the choice of a fully fit squad but hasn’t been overly impressed with the impact of his substitutes.
Celta Vigo Start 11: Marchesin; Mallo, Aidoo, Nunez, Galan; Beltran, Tapia, Cervi; Rodríguez; Aspas, Paciencia
Bench: Villar, Mingueza, Perez, Solari, Baeza, Swedberg, Vazquez, Dominguez, Veiga
Real Madrid team news
Dani Carvajal managed to overcome a sprained ankle in pre-season to feature in Madrid’s Super Cup win over Eintracht Frankfurt but was ruled out last weekend with a muscle problem.
Rodrygo also had to sit out the trip to last season’s Segunda champions due to a muscle injury in his right leg. The Brazilian isn’t expected to return until September.
Real Madrid starting 11: Courteous; Vazquez, Militao, Alaba, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Tchouameni; Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius
Bench: Lunin, Lopez, Rudiger, Nacho, Vallejo, Hazard, Camavinga, Kroos, Ceballos
Espanyol were the beneficiary of this last weekend, but Real Madrid are very familiar with Celta’s reckless touch in their own box. The Vigo side have conceded four penalties in their last two games against Los Blancos.
Still, even without the gift of a kick, Madrid’s familiar, well-oiled attack has a good chance of breaking Celta’s full-back offer. Although the champions may not be as adept at the back as new signings, Madrid could very well continue to rack up the wins during this transition.
Prediction: Celta Vigo 1-3 Real Madrid
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