Celta Vigo – Real Madrid

Real Madrid travels to Vigo to face Celta in a match from the 18th round of the Spanish La Liga.

Times are hard for the champions. Real Madrid are currently 4th in La Liga, although they are with a game in hand, because of their participation in the Club World Cup in December. They currently 14 points behind the leader Barcelona, which is hardly acceptable. This is why the manager Zinedine Zidane is put under a serious pressure right now.

Speaking about pressure, things got worse after Real Madrid suffered a 0-3 defeat against Barcelona in the El Classico last weekend. The Los Blancos were outperformed by Barca and they missed their chance to return in the title race. Now it’s safe to say that it would be extremely difficult for Real to defend their title. Especially with Barcelona making mistakes so rarely.

If Real Madrid fails to win against Celta as well, this could be the end for Zidane. The club’s president Florentino Perez is not among the most patient ones and we have seen it many times.

Celta are 11th in La Liga with 21 points won so far. Their record is 6 wins, 3 draws and 8 defeats. In the last round they enjoyed a 3-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna. Few weeks ago Celta won a point against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, which was a great achievement for Unzue’s team. Can they do something similar against Real Madrid as well?

Real Madrid can’t use the suspended Dani Carvajal for this game, while Sergio Ramos and Gareth Bale are recovering from slight injuries. But it’s expected to see them at Vigo. Karim Benzema is also fully fit after recovering from a hamstring injury.

Celta can’t use the suspended Ruben Blanco, while Kevin Vasquez is injured until February.