RC Celta de Vigo (0 wins, 0 losses, 1 draw) welcomes Real Madrid (1-0-0) to Balaídos Saturday. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we preview RC Celta de Vigo vs. Real Madrid odds and lines, and make our best La Liga bets, picks and predictions.
Expected to win the league, Real Madrid took care of business to kick their season off. Madrid is coming off a narrow 2-1 win over Almeria. It has also beaten German side Eintracht Frankfurt in the last 10 days.
Madrid is led by superstar F Karim Benzema. He played all 90 minutes against Almeria but did not score despite Madrid totaling 29 shots. Benzema led La Liga with 27 goals in 31 starts last season.
As for RC Celta, it finished with a 2-2 draw against Espanyol in its opener. One could argue RC Celta should’ve left with 2 points following a 98th-minute penalty given to the trailing side.
Celta totaled just 3 shots on targets. F Iago Aspas led the team in scoring a season ago with 18 goals and continued that trend, scoring 1 of the team’s 2 goals against Espanyol.
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RC Celta de Vigo vs. Real Madrid odds, lines, picks and predictions
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:16 a.m. ET.
- Money line: RC Celta de Vigo +390 (bet $100 to win $390) | Real Madrid -155 (bet $155 to win $100) | Draw +310
- Over/Under: 2.5 (O: -145 | U: +115)
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Prediction
Real Madrid 3, RC Celta de Vigo 1
Money line (ML)
LEAN REAL MADRID (-155).
One should be confident in Real. While it did win just 2-1 last week, it totaled 29 shots and put 15 on target.
If that happens again, Real Madrid should score more than 2. Similarly, Celta tied 2-2 and had only 3 shots on target. Real brought back many of their top weapons.
Real Madrid had a ton of success against RC Celta last season, winning the season series 2-0 and by a 7-3 aggregate. I expect that success to continue again, and at -155, I would lean to it only due to the lofty-than-ideal odds.
Over/Under (O/U)
LEAN OVER 2.5 (-145).
It is a consistent thought process here. I expect both of these to happen, and in the 2 matches last season, both of these bets would’ve hit.
Madrid’s offense is clicking, and it should be able to have more success than just 2 goals, especially since RC Celta allowed 7 in the 2 head-to-head matches last season. Celta had success in their opener as well.
It is positive that while the opportunities were not abundant, they were able to take advantage of them. Considering that along with Madrid’s chances in their opener, it’s easy to play the Over 2.5 (-145) despite the value.
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