Villarreal vs Celta de Vigo – News and Probable Lineups

Celta Vigo will look to revive their European ambitions as they resume their La Liga journey with an away fixture against Villarreal on Sunday evening.

Villarreal currently sits third in the La Liga standings, 13 points ahead of Real Betis in fifth place, whereas Celta occupies seventh spot, level on points with sixth-placed Getafe as they approach the final phase of the season.

Match overview

Villarreal struggled significantly in this season’s Champions League group stage, ending up in 35th place with just one point from eight games, but they appear poised for improvement in the 2026-27 edition of the tournament.

At present, the Yellow Submarine stands third in the La Liga table, five points ahead of Atletico Madrid, who sit in fifth, and 13 points clear of Real Betis in that same position.

Marcelino’s squad has managed to secure four points from their past two encounters, winning against Athletic Bilbao away on April 12 and then settling for a 1-1 draw with a resurgent Real Oviedo on Thursday night.

This season, Villarreal has been formidable at home, accumulating 37 points from 15 matches while conceding just 13 goals, which illustrates the challenge Celta will face on Sunday evening.

Despite this, the Yellow Submarine has only triumphed in one of their last four league encounters against Celta, and the previous meeting this season ended in a 1-1 draw.

Celta’s recent downturn in form has occurred at the most challenging point of the season, with the Sky Blues eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Europa League by Freiburg last week.

Claudio Giraldez’s team has faced defeats in each of their last four matches across all competitions, and five out of their last six, with three of their latest league games resulting in losses.

However, the Sky Blues did show a marked improvement in their performance against Barcelona on Wednesday, suffering only a narrow 1-0 defeat to the league leaders, but this left them sitting seventh in the table, tied on points with Getafe in sixth.

Failing to secure additional European football for next season would be a significant letdown for Celta, given the level of their play for much of the term.

Interestingly, Celta holds the third-best away record in the league this season, garnering 27 points from 16 matches, with only Real Madrid and Barcelona faring better on the road.

Villarreal La Liga form:

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Celta Vigo La Liga form:

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Celta Vigo form (all competitions):

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Team News

On Sunday, Villarreal will again be missing Juan Foyth, Pau Cabanes, and Logan Costa due to injury, while Santiago Mourino is considered a major doubt.

However, the home side will receive a boost with Santi Comesana returning from suspension and is set to reclaim his place in central midfield this weekend.

Georges Mikautadze is Villarreal’s top scorer this season, having found the net 11 times in 37 appearances, and the 25-year-old is expected to feature prominently in attack.

For Celta, Miguel Roman has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, and Carl Starfelt’s fitness will be assessed before a final decision is made.

Borja Iglesias has been in excellent goal-scoring form for Celta, netting 11 times in La Liga, and is anticipated to return to the starting lineup after being benched against Barcelona last time out.

Oscar Mingueza and Williot Swedberg were also excluded from the starting XI against Barcelona but should make their return on Sunday.

Villarreal probable starting XI:

Junior; Freeman, Navarro, Veiga, Pedraza; Pepe, Gueye, Comesana, Miller; G Moreno, Mikautadze

Celta Vigo probable starting XI:

Radu; Alonso, Aidoo, Rodriguez; Nunez, Sotelo, Vecino, Mingueza; Lopez, Iglesias, Swedberg

Villarreal excels at home, while Celta performing strongly on the road makes this match intriguing, and it could go either way. We were nearly inclined to predict a draw for Sunday’s fixture, but we believe Villarreal will manage to secure all three points.