Celta Vigo are looking to build on an excellent 6th place finish last season but it wont’ be easy without their star player Nolito who is settling in to life at Manchester City. Last season when Nolito was absent they didn’t look the same team and it will be a big ask for them to replicate that success, particularly given they will have to juggle league games with the demands of Europa League football. That is still some weeks away though and they come into this game as strong favourites against newly promoted Leganes and will be expecting to kick off with 3 points at home where they usually score a lot of goals.
Leganes are one of the strong favourites for the drop in what is their first ever season at this level. Along with Eibar they are the real minnows in this league and nothing much is expected of them. They did beat Villarreal in their final pre-season friendly but their other results weren’t that great. They were arguably more impressive than champions Alaves in what wasn’t a particularly strong Segunda Division last season. They scored 10 more goals than the Basque club but they simply don’t have the sort of resources required to invest in their team and have had to primarily rely on the loan and free transfer market this summer to bolster their squad.
Celta went through a mixed pre-season but wins over Fiorentina and Deportivo suggest they are still in reasonable shape and they should have too much class for the newcomers here. Promising young Danish international Pione Sisto is the man tasked with filling Nolito’s boots and with Iago Aspas and Fabián Orellana for company, Celta’s attack should still be a threat, certainly at home against the weaker sides so backing Celta Vigo -1.0 Asian Handicap at 2.150 looks a solid punt here.
Head To Head
These sides haven't met since a 2001 Copa del Rey tie which Celta won on away goals.
Stats
Celta Vigo are unbeaten in 9 Primera Division home games. This is Leganes' first ever match in the top flight. They only kept one clean sheet in 7 pre-season games.
Team News
Celta Vigo go into the new season without Nolito and attacking midfielder Pione Sisto is the only new arrival likely to break into their first choice team which was pretty settled last term.
Leganes are likely to go 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1 here. Playmaker Gabriel, who impressed on loan from Juventus last season and has since signed a permanent deal, is their biggest creative threat but they lack a clinical striker.
