After squandering a two-goal lead against Almeria, Celta Vigo will have to defeat Europa League holders Sevilla if they want to keep their hopes to qualifying for Europe alive. Los Rojiblancos, on the other hand, aim to make amends for the home loss to Real Madrid and try to catch fourth-placed Valencia.

Missed opportunity in Almeria

The mere fact Celta Vigo are in a position to fight for European qualification speaks volumes about the performances of Eduardo Berizzo’s charges, but the Sky Blues are determined to finish the season strongly and try to qualify for Europa League. Apart from the 4-2 home loss to Real Madrid, where they gave a very good account of themselves, Celta were pretty impressive of late, defeating Rayo Vallecano, Eibar and Malaga to climb to the top half of the standings. The Sky Blues were on the verge of climbing to seventh in the La Liga standings as they had a two-goal lead in the away game with relegation-threatened Almeria, but Gustavo Cabral’s sending off changed the course of the match and allowed the hosts to earn a valuable point. As a result, Celta have no choice but to try and defeat high-flying Sevilla on Sunday, and with the likes of Nolito and Santi Mina scoring goals for fun of late, they definitely stand a chance of upsetting their more illustrious opponents. However, the shaky back line is likely to face problems when facing the third-best attack in La Liga.

The hosts face serious selection problem seeing as Nolito, Alex Lopez, Gustavo Cabral, Hugo Mallo and Joaquin Larrivey miss out through suspension.

Another Europa League title on the cards

Sevilla are enjoying one of the most successful seasons in recent years, but the team still have a lot riding on the final five games of the season. Los Rojiblancos are in a great position to reach the second successive Europa League final having hammered Fiorentina 3-0 in the semi-final first leg, proving why they are widely regarded as one of the strongest home sides in Europe. Unai Emery’s charges had clearly recovered well from the home loss to Real Madrid, their first of the season at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, and can now fully focus on their league campaign. Sevilla may be sitting three points adrift of fourth-placed Valencia with three games to go, but with los Che facing Real at Santiago Bernabeu, los Rojiblancos could seriously boost their Champions League hopes by winning at Balaidos. There are no doubts the visitors head into the game in excellent spirits, and they will certainly be looking to take advantage of some important missings for the hosts. It is important to note that Sevilla are unbeaten in last eight away matches (W6 D2), although they did concede a total of 11 goals during that period.

Stephane M’Bia has been ruled out through concussion, whilst Jose Antonio Reyes and Benoit Tremoulinas are banned. Nico Pareja, Mariano Barbosa and Sebastian Cristoforo remain on the sidelines.

Verdict

In spite of some serious selection issues, the hosts have no choice but to go for a win here and I can definitely see them scoring a goal or two. However, it is the red-hot Sevilla that look closer to winning at Balaidos and I trust them to triumph in a high-scoring encounter.

Top pick: Over 2.5 goals   1.60 (3/5) @ Sportingbet

Alternative pick 1: Both teams to score   1.53 (8/15) @ Ladbrokes

Alternative pick 2: Away win + both teams to score   4.20 (16/5) @ Coral