Summary: Real Madrid, having lost their last two La Liga matches, aims to close a four-point gap to leaders Barcelona with a win against Celta Vigo. The match is a crucial domestic fixture for Madrid before they shift focus to a Champions League tie against Manchester City. Celta Vigo enters the game in strong form, having won four consecutive matches across all competitions.
Main Topics Covered:
1. The upcoming La Liga match between Celta Vigo and Real Madrid, including key context and stakes for both teams.
2. Real Madrid's recent poor form and the importance of the match in the title race.
3. The historical head-to-head record and recent results between the two clubs.
4. Real Madrid's need to balance domestic priorities with an imminent Champions League knockout match.
Celta Vigo vs Real Madrid: La Liga – teams, start, kickoff time, lineups
Real Madrid have lost their last two La Liga matches but can close the gap to leaders Barcelona when they play in Vigo.
Who: Celta Vigo vs Real Madrid
What: Spanish football’s La Liga
Where: Balaidos Stadium in Vigo, Spain
When: Friday, March 5 at 9pm (20:00 GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera‘s live coverage begins at 17:00 GMT.
After back-to-back defeats, Real Madrid will try to get back on the winning path in La Liga before it faces its new European nemesis.
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Madrid has slumped to consecutive Liga losses, 2-1 at Osasuna and a 1-0 implosion against lowly Getafe in its own Bernabeu Stadium.
On Friday, it will try to rebound at Celta Vigo while trailing leader Barcelona by four points.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at a potentially season-defining few days for Los Blancos.
Arbeloa says Real Madrid’s focus is fully on Celta Vigo
After the Celta game, Alvaro Arbeloa’s side can fully focus on its home game against Manchester City to start their Champions League round-of-16 tie next week.
Madrid and City have met in the knockout rounds for the four previous years, with Madrid advancing the last two times at the expense of Pep Guardiola’s side. City, however, beat Madrid already this season in the regular season.
Arbeloa, however, says his team will not look past the game in Vigo, and reverse their form in the Spanish top flight.
“In a team like Real Madrid, defeat is always difficult to handle due to the expectations and demands, but right now the only thing we are thinking about is [the Celta] match,” coach Arbeloa said on Thursday. “That’s the only thing that concerns us.”
How is La Liga shaping up for Real Madrid and Celta Vigo?
Celta, in sixth place, has won four in a row, covering the league and Europa League.
Real, meanwhile, will hope to close the gap to one point to leaders Barcelona, who visit Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
“We’re four points behind, not 18. This is Real Madrid. As long as we can mathematically fight, we will, and if there ever comes a time when we can no longer fight, we will still keep fighting,” said Arbeloa, who replaced Xabi Alonso as coach in January.
“In the dressing room, we’re aware that there’s still a lot of the season left.
“We’ve had two consecutive league defeats. Of course, at a club like Real Madrid, defeat is always difficult to handle because of the expectations and the pressure, but right now the only thing we’re thinking about is tomorrow’s match.”
What happened the last time Celta Vigo played Real Madrid?
Celta shocked Real earlier this season with a 2-0 win at Estadio Bernabeu in La Liga.
Williot Swedberg scored a second-half double in the match on December 7, which saw three Real players sent off.
Fran Garcia was shown red just after Swedberg’s 54th-minute opener, while Endrick and Alvaro Carreras were given their marching orders in injury time.
What happened in the corresponding Celta Vigo and Real Madrid fixture last season?
Real Madrid recorded a 2-1 at Celta in the same fixture last season.
Kylian Mbappe set Los Blancos on their way in the first half, before Swedberg levelled early in the second, only for Vinicius to net the winner in the 66th minute.
Head-to-head
This will be the 139th meeting between the sides, with Real Madrid winning 82 of the meetings. Celta have emerged victorious on 35 occasions.
Stat attack – Celta vs Real
Despite Celta’s win at Real earlier this season, they have not won a home game against Los Blancos since 2014.
The Madrid-based club have won nine of the 11 trips to Vigo since then.
Celta Vigo team news
Striker Borja Iglesias, who has 14 goals to his name this season, returns from suspension.
Marcos Alonso, Carl Starfelt and Pablo Duran are all carrying knocks and are set to be sidelined for the visit of Real.
Predicted Celta Vigo lineup
Radu; Rodriguez, Aidoo, Dominguez; Mingueza, Roman, Moriba, Carreira; Jutgla, Iglesias, Alvarez
Real Madrid team news
Madrid striker and league top scorer Kylian Mbappe is out with a left knee sprain. Jude Bellingham is sidelined by a left thigh injury, and Rodrygo is out for the rest of the season after an ACL tear.
“I talk to him every day,” Arbeloa said about Mbappe. “Each day he’s getting better; it’s a process where we’re taking it day by day.”
Dani Ceballos, David Alaba, and Eder Militao are also injured.
Franco Mastantuono is suspended following his red card against Getafe, while Alvaro Carreras and Dean Huijsen have both reached milestone yellow cards, so they also miss out.
“When you’re winning, and everyone is playing well, it’s easy to wear this shirt,” added Arbeloa, who insisted that he would not “make excuses” due to the injuries.
“We need to show our true potential now. It’s in moments like these that you see if we’re worthy of wearing this shirt and this badge.”
Predicted Real Madrid lineup
Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Asensio, Rudiger, F Garcia; Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Guler; G Garcia, Vinicius
Celta Vigo and Real Madrid form guides
Celta Vigo form (all competitions – most recent game last):
- D W W W W
Real Madrid form (all competitions – most recent game last):
- W W L W L
Meridiano
