Overview
Celta Vigo enters the upcoming match with very positive form after two consecutive victories against Mallorca and Girona in La Liga. This impressive streak of results helps them rise to sixth place in the rankings, 4 points ahead of seventh-placed Espanyol and 3 points behind fifth-placed Real Betis.
Coach Claudio Giraldez's team has even won all 4 recent matches in all competitions, including two wins against PAOK in the Europa League knockout round. Celta is currently preparing for the confrontation with Lyon in the round of 16.
Celta also aims to complete a double victory against Real Madrid this season, after defeating the Royal team 2-0 right at the Bernabeu in December 2025.
In the opposite direction, Real Madrid is going through a difficult period. Coach Alvaro Arbeloa's team has lost the last 2 matches in La Liga against Osasuna and Getafe.
Currently, Real Madrid is ranked second in the standings, 4 points behind the leading team Barcelona. Therefore, they are not allowed to drop any more points if they want to continue to chase in the championship race.
The squad situation of the Royal team is also not very optimistic. Real Madrid is lacking many key players, including key striker Kylian Mbappe. Besides, Rodrygo has just received bad news when suffering a anterior cruciate ligament injury and may have to be out of action for nearly a year.
Real Madrid's upcoming schedule is also very heavy. Next week, they will host Manchester City at the Bernabeu in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, before returning to La Liga to face Elche and preparing for the second leg with Pep Guardiola's team on March 17.
After that, Real Madrid has an important derby match with Atletico Madrid on March 22. Therefore, Arbeloa needs to ensure that his team does not continue to stumble in the key stage of the season.
Personnel situation
Celta Vigo will be strengthened when striker Borja Iglesias returns after suspension. This striker has scored 14 goals in all competitions in the 2025-2026 season and was absent in the victory against Girona in the previous round.
However, the home team still suffered personnel losses when Marcos Alonso, Carl Starfelt and Pablo Duran were unable to play due to injuries.
Ferran Jutgla - who just scored against Girona - may be pushed to the wing to give the center forward position to Iglesias. Meanwhile, Miguel Roman is likely to continue to play a role in the center of midfield.
On the other side, Real Madrid has just suffered a major shock when Rodrygo suffered a serious knee injury in the match against Getafe earlier this week. The Brazilian striker is expected to be out of action for at least 10 months.
In addition to Rodrygo, Real Madrid also does not have the services of Kylian Mbappe, Dani Ceballos, Jude Bellingham and Eder Militao due to injury. Meanwhile, Franco Mastantuono is suspended after a red card in the match against Getafe.
Eduardo Camavinga was previously absent due to dental problems, but the French midfielder has returned to training and is expected to play in this match.
Raul Asencio is also likely not to recover in time due to a neck injury. David Alaba still leaves open the possibility of playing due to a calf problem, so Dean Huijsen may be given the opportunity to start in the center-back position.
Expected lineup:
Celta Vigo: Radu, Rodriguez, Aidoo, Dominguez, Mingueza, Roman, Moriba, Carreira, Jutgla, Iglesias, Alvarez.
Real Madrid: Courtois, Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, Carreras, Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga, Guler, Garcia, Vinicius.
The match between Celta Vigo and Real Madrid takes place at 3:00 AM on March 7 (Vietnam time).
