Celta Vigo will be bidding to get their 2024-25 La Liga campaign off to the best possible start when they welcome Alaves to Estadio Municipal de Balaidos on Friday night.
The hosts finished 13th in Spain's top flight last term, while an impressive campaign left Alaves in 10th, which represented their best season since 2016-17.
Match preview
Celta concluded their preparations for the new season against West Ham United on Saturday, drawing 2-2 with the Premier League club before losing the resulting penalty shootout.
An impressive pre-season saw the Sky Blues win four of their seven games, suffering just one defeat in the process in normal time, and they look in good shape for the start of the 2024-25 campaign.
Claudio Giraldez's side have made three smart signings this summer, turning Unai Nunez's loan move into a permanent deal, in addition to bringing in Borja Iglesias and Ilaix Moriba on loan, with the former arriving from Real Betis and the latter from RB Leipzig.
Celta finished 13th in La Liga last season, boasting a record of 10 wins, 11 draws and 17 defeats from 38 matches to collect 41 points, and they are operating at the top level for the 13th season in a row.
The Sky Blues have back-to-back home games to open the season, welcoming Valencia in their second match on August 23, before ending the month with a trip to Villarreal.
Alaves, meanwhile, secured a return to La Liga for the 2023-24 campaign through the 2022-23 Segunda Division playoffs, and a strong season saw them finish in 10th spot in the table.
The Blue and Whites collected 46 points from their 38 matches and finished 13 points clear of the relegation zone, but they could be one of a number of teams battling against the drop this season.
Luis Garcia Plaza's side have been busy in the transfer market, signing eight players in total, while there have also been a number of departures, so there will be a fresh look to the squad this season.
Alaves played a lot of football during pre-season, taking part in eight friendlies, including a 2-1 success over Osasuna last weekend, so they should be ready for the start of the new campaign.
El Glorioso will tackle Real Betis (H) and Real Sociedad (A) in their final two games in August, and it will be fascinating to see how the team perform this season considering the huge turnaround of players.
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Team News
Celta have not reported any injury concerns for this match, so it is possible that the Sky Blues will have a full squad to choose from, including new signings Iglesias and Moriba.
Nunez could make his official debut, having arrived on a permanent basis, but Jorgen Strand Larsen will be a notable absence from the side, as the 24-year-old has joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan.
Iago Aspas is preparing to enter another La Liga campaign at the age of 37, and there is expected to be a spot in the XI for the experienced forward on Friday night.
As for Alaves, new arrival Hugo Novoa will be on the sidelines until the middle of next month due to a shoulder problem, but the visitors are otherwise in strong shape entering this match.
There are expected to be a number of debutants in this match, with Asier Villalibre and Stoichkov likely to start in the final third of the field, while Moussa Diarra is set to feature in the middle of the defence.
Tomas Conechny should also debut in one of the attacking positions, with the likes of Kike Garcia, Luca Romero and Carlos Vicente set to be among the substitutes for the first whistle.
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Villar; Mingueza, Nunez, Aidoo, Manquillo; Beltran, Moriba, De la Torre; Bamba, Iglesias, Aspas
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Sivera; Tenaglia, Diarra, Abqar, Sanchez; Guevara, Guridi, Benavidez; Stoichkov, Villalibre, Conechny
We say: Celta Vigo 2-1 Alaves
This has all of the makings of a very interesting match; the two teams played out a 1-1 draw in the reverse clash last season, while Alaves won 3-0 on home soil. Celta have been victorious in five of their last seven league meetings, though, and we are backing the hosts to secure all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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