Celta Vigo vs Villarreal Prediction: Plenty of goals again between two great entertainers

Two clubs pursuing European football meet at the Estadio de Balaidos on Wednesday (18:00, Premier Sports 2), as Celta Vigo (eighth) host Villarreal (fifth) in La Liga. 

Below are my Celta Vigo vs Villarreal predictions, complete with all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Jones El Abdellaoui and Carl Starfelt (both thigh) missed Celta's 4-3 defeat to Barcelona on Saturday and are expected to sit out the midweek visit of Villarreal.

Borja Iglesias hit a hat-trick for Claudio Giraldez's side at Montjuic Stadium, where Celta let slip a 3-1 lead, and the 32-year-old is expected to lead the line again on Wednesday.

Iker Losada was substituted at half-time against Barca for Oscar Mingueza, who could earn a start against the El Submarino Amarillo.

Football Odds

Iago Aspas and Alfonso Gonzalez, who were also introduced in the second half, are two more potential starters.

Villarreal drew 2-2 at home to Real Sociedad on Sunday, and the stalemate was costly in more ways than one.

Sergi Cardona and Pape Gueye picked up yellow cards that have incurred suspensions, so both players will sit out the trip to Vigo.

Gueye was only a second-half substitute against La Real, but left-back Cardona will need to be replaced in the starting XI, likely by Alfonso Pedraza.

Gerard Moreno, Raul Albiol (both unspecified), Tajon Buchanan (ankle), Alex Baena (calf) and Ilias Akhomach (knee) continue to miss out for Marcelino's side.

Celta Vigo vs Villarreal Odds

Celta are nine points behind their next opponents, having played a game more, yet it's Wednesday's hosts who are made 7/5 favourites, implying a win probability of 41.7%. Villarreal, who have won four of their last five away games, are 9/5, or a 35.7% chance, to create further distance between the sides.

The draw is priced at 5/2, both teams to score, which has landed in the last five head-to-heads, at 4/7, and over 2.5 total goals at 4/6.

Villarreal forward Ayoze Perez, who has scored three goals in his last four matches to bring his season total in La Liga up to 14, heads the anytime market on Wednesday at 13/8, followed by Saturday's hat-trick hero Iglesias (7/4) and Aspas (15/8).

Total Goals - Over 3.5 @ 7/4

The goals have flowed in this fixture over the last couple of years, with each of the past four meetings producing over 3.5. The first of those, in April 2023, saw four strikes as Villarreal won 3-1 at home, before the sides exchanged a couple of 3-2 wins (3-2 Villarreal in December 2023, 3-2 Celta in May 2024).

This season's reverse fixture, meanwhile, broke the record for most goals in a game between the two teams. Seven goals were scored, four in favour of Villarreal, who claimed maximum points again at the Estadio de la Ceramica.

That victory for Villarreal was back on August 26, but El Submarino Amarillo and Os Celeste are both in the top four of La Liga's 'over 3.5 goals' table. Only Barcelona (50%) have seen a higher percentage of their league games finish with at least four goals than Celta (34%), who are just above Villarreal (32%) in that regard.

Both sides were involved in entertaining contests at the weekend, with seven goals struck in Celta's defeat to Barcelona on Saturday and four exchanged between Villarreal and Real Sociedad a day later.

Only Barcelona (88) and Real Madrid (65) have scored more La Liga goals this season than Villarreal (55), while Celta (47) have struck the most outside the top five, so these are two clubs with attacking intent, and that sets us up for an entertaining match on Wednesday.

Booking Points Over/Under +42.5 - Over 42.5 @ 11/8

Cards, as well as goals, have been a common theme in recent games between Celta and Villarreal; the last four have seen at least five and over 42.5 booking points.

Earlier in the season, seven cards - all yellow - were shown, four in the direction of Villarreal and three for Celta, racking up 70 booking points in total (10 for a yellow with Betfred).

Only five La Liga clubs have been shown more yellows in 2024/25 than El Submarino Amarillo (80), who are averaging 2.6 per game, while Os Celeste (71) aren't much further down, averaging 2.2 per game.

Celta also rank highly for reds - only Mallorca (six) have been issued with more than their five - and Villarreal (three) have also witnessed multiple dismissals.

Villarreal have received exactly four cards in three of their last four matches, while Celta's defeat to Barca on Saturday saw four yellows brandished - all after regulation time.

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down

You can read all our latest Football Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.