Comments and predictions for Celta Vigo vs Villarreal: Chasing until the last minute

Latest Celta Vigo vs Villarreal team information

Celta Vigo will be without Carl Starfelt – the centre-back was taken off after just 15 minutes against Espanyol and also missed the trip to Barcelona. They also have no new injury concerns, apart from young talent Jones El-Abdellaoui.

Spain international Oscar Mingueza has been a key figure in Celta’s run this season, having been directly involved in nine goals from full-back – as many as he had in his previous four seasons combined (105 games).

Mingueza and his teammates in defense will have to pay special attention to Villarreal's Ayoze Perez - who is having the most explosive season of his career with 14 goals in La Liga.

Perez's form comes at the right time as key striker Gerard Moreno continues to be absent through injury, having only played 14 games this season.

Villarreal will also be without Alex Baena, Ilias Akhomach, Tajon Buchanan and Raul Albiol due to injury, while Sergi Cardona and Pape Gueye are suspended after picking up yellow cards against Real Sociedad.

Latest expected lineup Celta Vigo vs Villarreal

Celta Vigo:
Guaita; Rodriguez, Lago, Marcos Alonso; Carreira, Beltran, Sotelo, Mingueza; Iago Aspas, Borja Iglesias, Gonzalez

Villarreal:
Junior Reis; Kiko Femenia, Foyth, Costa, Pedraza; Pino, Parejo, Comesana, Denis Suarez; Ayoze Perez, Barry

Latest football commentary Celta Vigo vs Villarreal

Villarreal are holding a big advantage in the race to return to the Champions League after a three-year absence, entering round 33 of La Liga in fifth place on the rankings.

The Yellow Submarine currently have a game in hand against direct rivals Real Betis – that fixture is this weekend at home to Espanyol – which is also the only La Liga match taking place at the same time as the Copa del Rey final.

Coach Marcelino hopes his players will have a good preparation for that match with a positive result away from home this time, ideally extending their current 4-match unbeaten streak. In the previous round, Villarreal drew 2-2 with Real Sociedad in a match where they had reason to regret not being able to take all 3 points.

Despite opening the scoring early, Villarreal then fell behind 1-2 before Ayoze Perez equalized in the 60th minute. However, they had two goals denied by VAR, including a 96th-minute strike from Etta Eyong that seemed to have brought a dramatic victory.

Those points were somewhat cushioned by a crucial win over Betis in the previous round, and with a favourable schedule heading into the final stretch of the season – five of the remaining seven games are against teams in the bottom half of the table – Villarreal fans have reason to be hopeful of a return to the Champions League.

The addition of an extra Champions League spot, plus Barcelona and Real Madrid competing in the Copa del Rey final, also opens up a huge opportunity for Celta Vigo – a team dreaming of a first European Cup ticket in nearly a decade.

A regular in the continental arena in the early 2000s, Celta have only made one appearance in Europe since the 2006-07 season. Coach Claudio Giraldez hopes he can be the one to help the team rewrite history.

Los Celestes are in a good position to qualify for the Conference League – seventh – one point ahead of Real Sociedad, one point behind Mallorca, and two points clear of Rayo Vallecano and Osasuna. The race for this group is tight and unpredictable.

However, Celta's ambitions were dealt a blow when they lost 3-4 to Barcelona, ​​despite leading 3-1. Borja Iglesias' hat-trick put them ahead convincingly, but Barcelona scored two quick goals and finished Celta off with a 98th-minute penalty from Raphinha.

The defeat highlighted Celta's defensive weaknesses this season – they have conceded 49 goals, more than only Real Valladolid and Las Palmas – who are in the relegation zone.

After an eight-game unbeaten run that saw them pick up 18 points, Celta have now lost two games in a row, including a defeat to Espanyol at Balaidos. Their remaining fixtures are not easy either, with Villarreal, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Rayo Vallecano on the horizon – meaning the hosts will need to be at their best if they are to retain their European place.

Latest score prediction Celta Vigo vs Villarreal

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of the match.Celta Vigo vs Villarrealas follows:

• Sportsmole:Celta Vigo 2-1 Villarreal

• WhoScore:Celta Vigo 1-1 Villarreal
• Our newspaper predicts:Celta Vigo 1-1 Villarreal

When and where to watch Celta Vigo vs Villarreal live?

To watch the Celta Vigo vs Villarreal match live in La Liga at 0:00 on April 24, viewers can watch it onK+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. Wish you have fun watching football.