La Liga Preview: Villarreal Strong at Home, Can Celta Vigo Secure a Winning Start?

On August 27 at 3:30 AM, the third round of the 24/25 La Liga season kicks off with Villarreal hosting Celta Vigo.

Villarreal had an average season last year, securing 14 wins, 11 draws, and 13 losses over 38 rounds, eventually finishing 8th in the La Liga standings. This summer transfer window, Villarreal spent 64 million euros to sign six new players, including Logan Costa, Tihno Barry, Luis Junior, Kambuvala, Ayoze Perez, and Diego Conde. Meanwhile, they sold last season’s second-highest scorer, Sørloth, for 32 million euros, sold goalkeeper Jansson to Chelsea for 24.5 million euros, sent Briand to Southampton for 8.3 million euros, and sold Jorge Cuenca for 6.7 million euros. Mohica and Hassan were sold for 3 million euros each.

In their first match of the new La Liga season, Villarreal drew 2-2 at home against title contender Atletico Madrid. In the previous round, they won 2-1 away at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, thanks to goals from Danjuma and Ayoze Perez, thus ranking in the top five with four points.

Celta Vigo finished 13th in the league table with 10 wins, 11 draws, and 17 losses, accumulating 41 points last season. This summer, they only spent 7 million euros to bring in 27-year-old Unai Nunez from Athletic Bilbao, while releasing players like Gonzalo Paciencia, Tapia, and Lovet, and loaning Larsen to Premier League side Wolves for 3 million euros.

Undoubtedly, Celta Vigo continues its frugal operation, but it has been effective. In the first two rounds of the new season, they defeated Alaves 2-1 and Valencia 3-1, securing 6 points and topping the league table ahead of Barcelona on goal difference.

In their last 10 matches, Villarreal only managed 2 wins, 5 draws, and 3 losses, with a win rate of just 20%, though all losses were pre-season friendlies. Notably, Villarreal’s home form is impressive, with 5 wins, 2 draws, and 3 losses in their last 10 home games at the Ceramica Stadium, including a 4-4 draw with the rampant Real Madrid and a 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid.

In La Liga matches, Villarreal secured 4 wins and 5 draws in 10 home games, with only one defeat. Celta Vigo, on the other hand, won 6, drew 3, and lost 1 in their last 10 matches, achieving a 60% win rate. In the last 10 La Liga matches, they also won 6, but lost 3. In La Liga, Celta Vigo mainly relies on home games to score points, with mediocre away form, winning only 3, drawing 2, and losing 5 in their last 10 away games, a win rate of just 50%.

Villarreal and Celta Vigo are old rivals in La Liga. In their last 10 meetings, Villarreal won 3, drew 2, and lost 5, slightly disadvantaged. However, in their last 3 home games against Celta Vigo, Villarreal won all three, giving them a clear psychological advantage.

Both teams have performed well since the start of the new season. Will Villarreal continue to defend their home ground or will Celta Vigo maintain their dark horse status and secure a third consecutive win? We’ll have to wait and see.

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