Eibar vs. Celta Vigo 9/12/20 LaLiga Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Eibar is welcoming Celta Vigo to Pizarro Gomez Stadium in round 1 in Spanish LaLiga.

Eibar has played 4 games in the preseason, and they have 1 win, 1 loss, and 2 draws alongside 6 conceded goals, and 5 scored goals. Eibar ended last season in 14th place with 42 points, just 6 points above the relegation zone. Eibar wasn’t playing well on either end last season, and they have scored only 39 goals while conceding 56 goals. Angel and Arbilla are both injured, and they will not be playing in this match. The only notable arrival to Eibar is Damian Kadzior from Dinamo Zagreb for 2.2 million euros. There have been a lot of departures in free transfers from Eibar, and those were good players like Orellana, Charles, Mesa, and Escalante, all of whom will certainly be missed in Eibar this season. There is still time for Eibar to bring in some reinforcements, and they need it. Eibar barely escaped the relegation zone last season, and I think it will be even harder for them this season because Eibar lost many good players. Jose Luis Mendilibar is still the head coach in Eibar, but his score is not great, 68 wins, 54 draws, and 85 losses.

Celta was fearing for their LaLiga lives last season literally until the last game, and they were lucky. Celta has escaped the relegation by 1 point. With 37 points, Celta ended the season in 17th place. Celta played well after the restart last season, but that form disappeared soon, and Celta hasn’t won any of their last 6 games in LaLiga last season. In the preseason, Celta has played 2 games, and they have 1 win and 1 draw. Iago Aspas was Celta’s top goalscorer with 14 goals last season, while Denis Suarez had 5 assists. Sergio Alvarez and Ruben Blanco are both injured for Celta Vigo. There weren’t many activities on the transfer market for Celta, and the only player they sold was Pione Sisto for 2.5 million, while Baeza was the only arrival for 2.5 million as well. Celta Vigo is such a good team, and I’m absolutely staggered how bad are they doing for the last few seasons. With players like Aspas, Mina, Nolito, Suarez, Mor, Bertran, and Junca in their lineup, Celta should be fighting for the Europa League and not stay outside the relegation zone. Oscar Garcia has been Celta’s head coach since November or 2019, and he has done well, but hopefully, he can do better this season because Celta can certainly do much, much better.

Eibar has had plenty of success against Celta at home, but Celta has been better in the preseason, and they are the stronger team on paper. Eibar has lost some important players, and it will be hard for them to secure their LaLiga spot for next season. I will pick Celta on the road in this game.