Celta Vigo vs. Atletico Madrid 8/15/21 LaLiga Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Celta Vigo is hosting Atletico Madrid at Municipal de Balaidos in round 1 of the Spanish LaLiga. Celta is in great form dating back to last season, and their expectations are pretty high this season. Atletico has won the title last season, but they have been sloppy in their preseason, but they are good enough to defend the title.

Celta ended last season in 8^th place with 53 points, which is a nice accomplishment for them after a few seasons of torture, but they have proved they can do a lot better. Celta was solid in the attacking end with 55 scored goals, but their defense was once again terrible with 57 conceded goals. In their 4 friendly games this preseason, Celta has 3 wins and a draw, and they haven’t conceded a single goal yet. Celta has kept most of their roster the same as last season, and that will certainly help them in the Europa League battle because chemistry is good. There are no injuries or suspensions in Celta as of right now. With a solid defense, and with a great preseason behind them, Celta is looking well, but now it’s time to start the season in a positive way at home.

Atletico Madrid hasn’t made any notable outgoing transfers in the offseason, but they have signed De Paul from Udinese for 35 million Euros. Atletico hasn’t had a good preseason with 3 losses and 2 wins, and more importantly, their defense has been sloppy, but I have confidence coach Simeone will fix that soon. Atletico has conceded 6 goals in 5 games, but they have scored at least 1 goal in 4 of those 5 games. Felix and Felipe are both injured, and they will probably miss this game. Atletico has finally won the LaLiga title last season ahead of Real Madrid, and since both Real and Barcelona have lost some key players, I like Atletico’s chances to defend the title. With the addition of De Paul, Atletico has additional strengthened their midfield. Atletico’s defense has remained mostly the same, and they have a lot of depth in that department. I think Atletico will have another good season, I think they are in a good position to defend the title, but I have a feeling they will try and surprise us in the Champions League.

I think this will be a fun matchup at the start of the season, but I think it will be a tight game. At the moment, neither team has the advantage, and for that reason, I will take the draw here.