Preview: Celta Vigo vs. Levante - prediction, team news, lineups

Celta Vigo will be looking to move into eighth position in La Liga when they continue their domestic campaign at home to Levante on Friday evening.

The home side, who recorded a 2-1 victory over Osasuna on Sunday, are currently ninth in the division, three points clear of 12th-placed Levante, with both teams on 33 games for the season.

Match preview

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Celta have finished 17th in each of the last two La Liga campaigns, while they have not claimed a top-half spot since 2015-16, meaning that it has been a successful season to date.

A record of 10 wins, 11 draws and 12 defeats has seen them collect 41 points, which has left them in ninth position in the table, just one point behind eighth-placed Granada.

Eduardo Coudet's side only picked up one point from their three matches between April 12 and April 22 but managed to return to winning ways last time out, recording a 2-1 win over Osasuna in Vigo, with Iago Aspas and Jeison Murillo on the scoresheet.

The Sky Blues have won seven of their 16 home league matches this season, but they are actually without a victory over Levante in La Liga since August 2018, losing each of their last two home fixtures with the Valencia-based outfit, including a 3-2 defeat in the corresponding fixture last term.

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Levante, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 loss to Elche on Saturday, which made it three straight defeats for Paco Lopez's side in Spain's top flight.

The Frogs have actually only won one of their last six matches in the league, suffering five losses, which has seen them slide down into 12th position in the table.

Lopez's team will still believe that they are capable of claiming a top-half spot, but there are now only four points separating them from 15th-placed Getafe, meaning that a poor run of form in the coming weeks would likely see them drop further down the division.

Levante have finished 15th, 15th and 12th in their last three seasons at this level and therefore it could be a successful end to the campaign despite their struggles in recent weeks.

The Valencia-based side have lost exactly half of their 16 away La Liga matches this term, but their last league victory did come on their travels - a 1-0 success over Eibar on April 10.

Team News

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Celta will again be without the services of Ruben Blanco, Emre Mor and Sergio Alvarez through injury, while Hugo Mallo picked up a hamstring problem against Osasuna and is set to miss out.

Mallo's spot in the starting XI is expected to be taken by Kevin Vazquez, but it could otherwise be the same side that took to the field for the 2-1 success.

Santi Mina should again line up alongside Aspas in the final third of the field, with Nolito, Denis Suarez and Brais Mendez also featuring in attacking positions for the home team.

As for Levante, Ruben Rochina will be available after serving a one-game ban, but Dani Cardenas, Jose Campana, Nemanja Radoja, Jorge Miramon and Nikola Vukcevic are all still injured.

Head coach Lopez is expected to resist the temptation to make wholesale changes from the starting XI that suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat to struggling Elche last time out.

As a result, Jorge de Frutos, Jose Luis Morales and Roger Marti should all retain their spots, but Gonzalo Melero and Son could potentially come into the side.

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Villar; Vazquez, Aidoo, Murillo, Fontan; Mendez, Tapia, D. Suarez, Nolito; Mina, Aspas

Levante possible starting lineup:
Fernandez; Son, Postigo, Vezo, Clerc; De Frutos, Melero, Malsa, Bardhi; Morales, Marti

We say: Celta Vigo 2-1 Levante

There is not an awful lot between these two sides in terms of quality, but it is difficult to look past Celta here considering Levante's recent problems; we are expecting a tight and possibly cagey fixture between the two clubs but just fancy the home side to emerge victorious at the end of the 90 minutes.