- Team form: Celta are unbeaten in five (W2, D3).
- Opposition form: Athletic have lost three in a row.
- Head-to-head: Celta have won one and drawn one of their last two home head-to-head matches.
Celta could be the value underdog
Odds and form
Celta de Vigo come into this game as the slight favorites at 2.32 compared to Athletic Bilbao at 3.0, which looks all wrong given the visitors have lost their last three. Los Leones were beaten 1-0 by Atalanta Bergamo in the Friendly Club Matches 2026 and 3-1 at home by Sevilla in their opening LaLiga 2026/2027 fixture, so there is a real feeling of pressure on them already.
Key player
Aitor Paredes, who has one goal in one game this season, is Athletic Bilbao's leading scorer and he could be their most dangerous player in this game as he is capable of carrying the ball out of the back line and getting the ball to his forwards quickly.
Styles
Edin Terzić's side play at a higher tempo than Celta with a 4-3-3 structure in which they press hard, looking to win the ball back in advanced areas and then hit the opponents on the counterattack. Claudio Giráldez's Celestes are more patient, set up in a back three that can morph into an asymmetric attack and look to win the match without going too quickly.
Tactical matchup should be a chess match
The clash of styles will make this an interesting chess match – Celta's compact block against Athletic's high press. But the visitors have been struggling recently and Celta will be hard to break down.
- They come into this fixture unbeaten in their last five (W2, D3) and unbeaten in their last two at home (W1, D1) while Athletic have won two and lost two of their last four on the road, so they can travel to Vigo and win the game.
- But Athletic are in worse form and our selection to take the points in Vigo is Celta de Vigo in the double chance market as they are the more likely side to nick it, if anyone does, on Sunday.
Balaídos could be a cauldron
Celta's last match result was a 1-1 draw at Napoli in the Friendly Club Matches 2026 and they drew 0-0 at Valencia in their only LaLiga 2026/2027 fixture to date, so they come into this with momentum but without much bite.
Celta sit 11th in the LaLiga 2026/2027 table with one point from one game, which is solid but could do with some spark, while Athletic are 18th with zero points from one. The last head-to-head match result finished 1-1 at Athletic Bilbao in LaLiga 2025/2026 and the overall recent record is very tight with Celta winning one, Athletic none and one draw in two.
The under 2.5 goals line at 1.73 fits the grind that this could be while Both Teams To Score – No at 1.93 is also taken because it's hard to see either side getting enough space to create significant chances in the game.
