Real Madrid Vs. Celta Vigo Prediction: El Real Trying To Rise From Disappointment

Rodrygo membekas Real Madrid's disappointment at home. (photo: x @realmadrid)

JAKARTA - Real Madrid will try to bounce back from their disappointment at the Spanish Super Cup at home to Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, in the Copa del Rey match on Thursday 16 January.

Sebelumnya, Los Blancos memastikan tempat mereka di babak 16 besar dengan kemenangan besar 5-0 atas Deportivo Minera, sementara Celta Vigo harus berjuang keras untuk membalik keadaan dan menang atas Racing Santander di babak ketiga.

Real Madrid started 2025 on a busy schedule, playing four games in the first half of January, much more than Celta, who only played twice this month. In fitness, of course Celta is better.

Los Blancos opened the year with a 2-1 win in La Liga against Valencia, followed by a landslide victory over Minera in the Copa del Rey. However, their trip to Saudi Arabia to defend the Spanish Super Cup title did not go smoothly.

Although Carlo Ancelotti brought his team forward to the final with a 3-0 win over Mallorca, they had to accept the harsh reality in the top party when they lost 5-2 to Barcelona. The defeat was even more painful as it lost to El Clasico both in the last three months after falling 4-0 at home last October in La Liga.

Having failed to win trophies in Saudi Arabia made Real Madrid now very motivated to win in the Copa del Rey match against Celta Vigo. Los Blancos have ambitions to add to their 20 Copa del Rey trophy collection.

At the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid had an impressive record by winning their last five home games in all competitions with an aggregate score of 16-2. In addition, they also dominated Celta Vigo in the last nine meetings, including a 2-1 win at Balaidos last October.

Meanwhile, Celta Vigo had to go through three games to reach the last 16 of the Copa del Rey. They scored 12 goals in the first two rounds against UD San Pedro and Salamanca UDS, but struggled to beat Racing Santander in the third half.

In that match, Celta reversed things from trailing 2-1 against Santander who played with 10 players. The goal of suicide in the 86th minute and Alfon Gonzalez's winning goal in injury time ensured a 3-2 victory for Los Celestes.

However, in La Liga, Celta failed to get a positive result when she lost 2-1 to Rayo Vallecano last Friday. The defeat kept them stuck in 12th place in the standings.

Despite facing a tough challenge at the Santiago Bernabeu, Celta could recall their success in last season's Copa del Rey last 16, when they won 3-1 over Valencia in an away game to advance to the quarter-finals.

However, history did not side with the visitors, because the last time they beat Real Madrid was in January 2017. Interestingly, the 2-1 victory took place in the Copa del Rey, with Celta winning 4-2 on aggregate to advance to the next round.

Real Madrid still cannot be strengthened by Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal who are absent until the end of the season due to ligament injuries.

David Alaba is expected to return to the squad after recovering from a long injury since December 2023. This Austrian defender has become a substitute who was not used in two Spanish Super Cup matches.

Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham, and Kylian Mbappe are expected to be available even though they train separately at Tuesday's training session. However, Eduardo Camavinga is doubtful of appearing due to health problems.

Vinicius Junior, who received a red card against Valencia in La Liga, was still able to play because his sentence only applies to the league's domestic competition.

On the other hand, Celta had to play without their captain, Iago Aspas, who was still muscle injury.Marcos Alonso was absent due to an ankle problem he got in weekend games, before undergoing a ban from playing in his next La Liga game against Athletic Bilbao.

Alfon Gonzalez, a hero in the second half of the Copa del Rey, was also confirmed absent after suffering an injury against Rayo Vallecano.

However, Celta received good news with Mihailo Ristic's return to training sessions after recovering from injury, and Javier Rodriguez is ready to appear after undergoing a one-match ban.

Real Madrid, which has an impressive record at home, are seeded to win this game. With pressure to bounce back after failing in the Spanish Super Cup, Ancelotti will certainly lower full power to keep the chances of winning the Copa del Rey trophy.

Meanwhile, Celta Vigo had to play perfectly to create a surprise at the Santiago Bernabeu, although history did not side with them.

Courtois; Vazquez, Asencio, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappe

Villar; Rodriguez, Dominguez, Starfelt; Mingueza, Beltran, Moriba, Cervi; Duran, Bamba, Iglesias

Score prediction: Real Madrid 3-1 Celta Vigo