Espanyol vs Celta Vigo

Espanyol vs. Celta Vigo / La Liga – The teams are positioned in the middle of the table and don’t play well lately, although both had won in the Cup. The difference is that victory in the Cup had brought the quarter finals for Espanyol, while Celta won but the victory was not enough to pass further. Espanyol lost the last two league matches, while Celta’s series without victories is even longer, although it drew in the last round. Celta has one point more but it hasn’t won Espanyol away for a long time, who had won the last five matches against Celta in front of its fans. Begins: 17.01.2015 – 22:00 CET

Espanyol
The things are not going well in the championship but they are compensating that with the Cup as Espanyol qualified last week for the quarterfinals eliminating no less than Valencia after the defeat in the first leg. They had made a pretty good result at the Mestalla as they lost by 2-1, but in spite of that they needed a good game in the second leg, which only a few expected after two straight defeats in the championship, one of which one was suffered at home by Eibar.

Even the team was almost completely changed compared to the one that mostly plays league matches but they were a bit lucky when the opponent was left with one less player on the pitch. They have taken the initiative, attacked and then coach Gonzalez sent in F. Caicedo, which proved to be a crucial moment as this player scored two goals and brought them to the quarterfinals. Now, despite the success, a different team will play and most of the heroes of the Cup will move on the bench, while the good news is that midfielder S. Sevilla is definitely ready.

Probable lineups Espanyol: Casilla – Arbilla, Colotto, Moreno, Fuentes – V. Sanchez, Canas – Montanes, S. Sevilla, Sergio Garcia – F. Caicedo

Celta Vigo
Something is finally moving toward the better when it comes to Celta, but the fans are still waiting that this team get back into the rhythm that they had at the start of the season, when they were really brilliant and when they lose very rarely. They are currently in a long series without a victory in the championship but the positive is that had at least scored a goal in the last round after a long time, and that happened against Valencia at home, which was enough for a draw 1-1. So, the series of defeats was interrupted as well as the series without a scored goal, while during the week they even managed to win in the Cup over Athletic Bilbao but it was in fact a consolation victory, because they in fact didn’t have a chance as they lost the first match at home by 4-2.

That is why 2-0 in Bilbao was not enough but at least it raised their self-confidence. What is bad are the problems with assembling the team as they will be quite weakened against Espanyol, especially on side positions, because Jonny Castro is suspended as well as Planas, while Hugo Mallo is injured. Apart from them there will be no forward Charles, also because of yellow cards, while Larrivey is too under suspension. That is why coach Berizzo will have to improvise and change players at certain positions.

Probable lineups Celta Vigo: S. Alvarez – Radoja, Cabral, Fontas, S. Gomez – B. Fernandez, A. Lopez – Krohn-Dehli, Orellana, Nolito – Santi Mina

Espanyol – Celta Vigo PICK
According to the standings and what they showed so far the match could be quite uncertain, but Espanyol is in a better shape and is full of self-confidence after the Cup. However, Celta has bigger problems with incapacitated players so the guests can hardly win.

Pick: Asian handicap 0 Espanyol

Stake: 6/10

Odds: 1.95