Celta Vigo vs Osasuna Prediction: A third consecutive H2H card for Torro

Celta Vigo and Osasuna played out an entertaining contest at the latter's Estadio El Sadar on September 1, with the hosts emerging 3-2 winners in Pamplona. On Friday night (20:00, Premier Sports 1) the two clubs, separated by just three points in the La Liga table, meet in the reverse fixture at the Estadio de Balaidos in Vigo.

Below are my Celta Vigo vs Osasuna predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds as ninth heads to 14th.

Team News

Celta Vigo trio Miguel Rodriguez (groin), Hugo Alvarez (knee) and Franco Cervi (thigh) have all been ruled out of Friday's contest, while Carlos Dominguez is a major doubt after coming off injured in the 37th minute of last Saturday's 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid.

Oscar Mingueza replaced the 24-year-old at the Metropolitano Stadium and will likely take his place in the starting XI this week.

Borja Iglesias and Iker Losada are also in contention for starts after coming on at the start of the second half last weekend when Iago Aspas made a goalscoring return from the bench.

Football Odds

Osasuna don't appear to have any injury concerns and they are boosted by the return of Flavien Boyomo, who was suspended for last Saturday's 1-1 draw with Real Madrid.

However, Jesus Areso and Aimar Oroz picked up their fifth yellow cards of the league campaign in that stalemate and both players are banned for Friday's fixture.

Ruben Pena came on for the final half-hour against the reigning European champions and the 32-year-old is set to start at right-back in place of the suspended Areso in Vigo.

Oroz, meanwhile, could be replaced in midfield by either Iker Munoz or Moi Gomez.

Celta Vigo vs Osasuna Odds

Celta Vigo have won just one of their last six La Liga games but that victory came last time out on home soil (3-2 v Real Betis, February 8). Friday's hosts are 7/10 to exact their revenge on Osasuna, implying a 58.8% probability, while the visitors are 4/1, or a 20% chance, to do the double over their opponents.

The draw is priced at 11/4, both teams to score at 10/11, and over 3.5 total goals at 9/4.

Celta's goalscorer last week, Aspas, heads the anytime market here at 6/4, followed by Iglesias (8/5), with Osasuna's 13-goal marksman Ante Budimir first up for the away side at 9/5.

Both Teams To Score - Yes @ 10/11

At just under EVS, I think we're getting great value here.

Both teams scored in both halves in September's reverse fixture, with Osasuna winning the first half 2-1 and drawing the second half 1-1.

Celta and Osasuna rank third and fourth respectively in the La Liga BTTS table; the Vigo club have seen 71 per cent (17) of their 24 games this season end with at least one goal on either side, while Los Rojillos are fractionally down at 67 per cent (16).

Both teams to score has been a winner in all six of Celta's league games this calendar year, as well as their Copa del Rey defeat to Real Madrid (5-2 aet) on January 16, while Osasuna have seen BTTS - Yes land in their last five La Liga matches.

The statistics make for encouraging reading if you're after some entertainment on Friday night, and both teams to score looks a real goer at the price offered.

Player to Receive a Card - Lucas Torro (OSA) @ 2/1

Only Alaves' Abdel Aqbar (12), Leganes' Yvan Neyou (10) and Las Palmas' Alex Suarez (nine) have been shown more yellow cards in La Liga this season than Osasuna midfielder Lucas Torro (eight) who is on track to surpass his previous highs of 10 in the competition set in 2021/22 and 2022/23.

The 30-year-old is averaging 2.5 fouls per game in the Spanish top flight this term so it's no surprise to see him averaging a card every 2.8 matches.

He avoided a booking against Los Blancos last weekend despite committing three fouls but was cautioned in two of his first three February outings and is always a decent shout in the player card market.

Torro gave away three free-kicks against Celta in Pamplona earlier this season and was shown a yellow in the 66th minute of that win for Osasuna. One of his three fouls in that game was on Ilaix Moriba, a player who, on average, is fouled 1.8 times per game in La Liga, and the Guinea international could cause more problems for the Spaniard on Friday.

The Osasuna man was also booked in Osasuna's 2-0 win in Vigo last season, meaning he has been carded in his last two appearances against Celta.

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