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Real Sociedad vs Celta Vigo predictions and match preview for Saturday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as Celta visit the Reale Arena.
| Date | Saturday 18th February 2023 |
| Kick-Off | 14:00 (CET) |
| Stadium | Reale Arena |
| Competition | LaLiga |
Real Sociedad vs Celta Vigo Preview
Saturday’s action in Spain gets underway in Donostia. Celta Vigo are the visitors to the Reale Arena for a game between two sides that have been going pretty well of late.
Real Sociedad will be the favourites of course with home advantage. They suffered a shock defeat to Real Valladolid in their last outing here but bounced back in style with a 3-2 win at the RCDE Stadium. La Real were 3-0 up in that game at one point with Take Kubo and Alexander Sorloth continuing their impressive seasons with another goal apiece.
It’s going to be really interesting to see what Imanol does if he can finally get all of his main midfielders and forwards fit. Injuries have made it easier to slot Mikel Oyarzabal back into the team following his lengthy lay-off. However La Real were ticking along very nicely without him in the first half of the season with an established midfield quartet playing behind Kubo and Sorloth in attack.
Celta Vigo meanwhile have enjoyed a pretty good resumption following the World Cup with doubts about Carlos Carvalhal’s appointment starting to ease. The thrilling 4-3 win at Betis was their standout performance and result, but their other games have been much less dramatic with a defensive structure starting to look more solid than we’d seen previously under Chacho Coudet.
They should really have got something from their home game against Atletico Madrid last weekend with Memphis Depay netting the only goal late on. They’ll most likely come here looking to keep things tight again and they have few selection issues to deal with which should aid them in that task. The only big question mark for Carvalhal may be in goal with Ivan Villar hoping to keep his place following the signing of veteran Diego Alves.
Team News & Possible Lineups
Real Sociedad
| INJURED | Merquelanz, Elustondo, Cho, Sadiq |
| DOUBTFUL | Silva |
| BANNED |
Possible XI: Remiro – Rico, Le Normand, Zubeldia, Barrenetxea – Merino, Zubimendi, Brais Mendez – Oyarzabal, Sorloth, Kubo (4-3-3)
Coach: Imanol Alguacil
Celta Vigo
| INJURED | Marchesin |
| DOUBTFUL | |
| BANNED |
Possible XI: Villar – Galan, Aidoo, Nunez, Mingueza – Beltran – De la Torre, Veiga, Perez – Aspas, Larsen (4-1-3-2)
Coach: Carlos Carvalhal
Score Prediction: Real Sociedad 1-0 Celta Vigo
Real Sociedad’s midfield issues have eased now with Mikel Merino, Martin Zubimendi and Brais Mendez all potential starters here. Absentees in that area of the pitch were certainly a factor in their recent defeat to Real Valladolid here, but they should be better placed in this game to control the match and they ought to find a way past an improving Celta side.
PLEASE NOTE – Our La Liga previews and predictions are not betting tips! No profits are guaranteed if you’re using them to bet on Spanish football. If you are gambling, do so responsibly and never stake more than you can afford to lose. BeGambleAware.
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