#1012 ptsW2 D6 L3GD 0
Celta's left-centre defensive role has asked questions all season that the squad has not yet answered convincingly, and Thursday's home Europa League fixture against Union St.-Gilloise at Balaidos will test the same gap. The 2-1 away win over Celtic 13 days ago remains the brightest result of the recent stretch — and on balance, The Playbook expects Celta to win at home on Thursday — but the 0-3 loss to Rayo Vallecano four days ago, with Jorge de Frutos scoring twice and Unai López adding a third, exposed how quickly Celta can concede in numbers when their defensive shape breaks. Carl Starfelt, who missed that Celtic match with a muscle injury per شبكة تواصل الإخبارية, is a name the defence around him will need back when fit; his absence shifts the selection decision noticeably. In attack, Javi Rodríguez leads the club's combined La Liga and Europa League contributions with three goals and one assist across ten appearances, and Hugo Álvarez has four goal contributions of his own from 12; whether that output reaches Thursday's fixture is the role the Europa League run will settle.
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#1012 ptsW2 D6 L3GD 0
# Celta Vigo seek European response after 3-0 defeat at Rayo
Celta Vigo return to UEFA Europa League action on Thursday, November 5, with a point to prove after a difficult domestic result. They lost 3-0 away to Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, October 31, following a 0-0 home draw with Real Betis. Union Saint-Gilloise visit Balaidos next, offering Celta a change of competition and venue.
The recent results have been mixed rather than uniformly poor. Celta won 2-1 away to Celtic in the Europa League on October 22 and beat Alavés 2-1 at home in La Liga on October 18. Before those victories they lost 2-1 at home to Juventus in Europe on October 15. Across the five matches, Celta have two wins, one draw and two defeats.
The La Liga table helps explain the pressure on results. Celta are tenth with 12 points from 11 games, having won two, drawn six and lost three. They have scored ten league goals and conceded ten, a goal difference of zero. Their six draws are the defining feature of the league record: Celta have lost only three times but have converted relatively few matches into victories.
Javi Rodríguez has three goals and one assist in ten appearances across all competitions. Hugo Álvarez has one goal and three assists in 12 appearances, while Miguel Román and Hugo Gonzalez each have one goal and two assists in eight. Pablo Durán has two goals in ten appearances. These are season contributions, not an account of who scored in the Celtic victory.
The European record in the recent list contains a 2-1 home defeat to Juventus and a 2-1 away win at Celtic. That makes Thursday's fixture against Union Saint-Gilloise an opportunity to build on the positive result in Glasgow rather than dwell exclusively on the loss at Rayo.
Kick-off against Union St.-Gilloise is at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 5.
Celta's league goals for and against are exactly balanced. Their challenge is to find a more consistent winning edge, beginning with a European match at home. A victory would give them a stronger recent sequence; the record today remains two wins from the last five fixtures.
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#912 ptsW2 D6 L3GD 0
Celta Vigo lost 3-0 at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, the 0-3 away loss to Rayo Vallecano at the Estadio de Vallecas following a 0-0 home draw with Real Betis at Balaidos. Before that came a 2-1 away win over Celtic in the Europa League, so Celta have one win in three, with 2 goals scored and 4 conceded.
Celta are ninth in La Liga with 12 points from 2 wins, 6 draws, 3 losses and a goal difference of 0. Six draws in eleven games is the story of the season. Centre-back Javi Rodríguez leads the club with 3 goals and an assist, Hugo Álvarez has a goal and 3 assists, and Miguel Román and Hugo Gonzalez have a goal and 2 assists each.
Next is Union St.-Gilloise at Balaidos in the Europa League on Thursday 5 November, a chance to get back to scoring after two league games without a goal.
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