The La Liga title may be beyond Atletico Madrid after last weekend's defeat to Barcelona, but Diego Simeone's side still have the motivation to try and finish above arch rivals Real Madrid.
It has been a long time since Los Rojiblancos ended two consecutive seasons above the side from the Bernabeu in the table, yet they head into this round of fixtures two points clear of Los Blancos.
Celta Vigo are the visitors to the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday and the Galician outfit moved out of the relegation zone last weekend after a positive run which has seen them pick up seven points from their last three games.
Latest odds
Atletico have lost just two of their last 36 home La Liga matches and are priced at 19/50 (1.38) with William Hill to record a win on Saturday.
JAVIER SORIANO
Celta claimed a 2-0 win over Simeone's men in Vigo back in September and are priced at 17/2 (8.50) to make it back-to-back victories with the draw at 15/4 (4.75).
Team news
The big news for Celta is that their talismanic captain and top scorer Iago Aspas is suspended for the game. The Spain international has scored five goals and provided two assists in the three games since he returned from over three months out injured, but he will not feature in Madrid.
Atletico will be without Diego Costa who begins a suspension after his red card at the Camp Nou last week while Jose Maria Gimenez and Thomas Partey are also suspended.
Preview
It is difficult to overstate just how vital Aspas is to Celta and during his absence through injury the Galicians lost 10 of their 12 matches, winning just once in three months.
Without the 31-year-old, Fran Escriba's side are infinitely less dangerous and seemingly lack belief, making an upset at the Wanda Metropolitano this weekend unlikely. The visitors failed to score in each of their last three away games before Aspas returned last week at Huesca.
Meanwhile, Celta lost without scoring at both the Camp Nou and the Bernabeu this season and backing them to suffer another defeat while drawing another blank makes sense, especially when considering Atletico's defensive record. The Madrid based side have won seven of their last eight home league games to nil, and remain by some distance the best defensive unit in the division.
Tips and predictions
Atletico are offered at 19/20 (1.95) to win to nil and this looks an excellent selection given the context of the game.
This bet has paid out in 11 of Atletico's 15 home league games this term and with Celta missing the man responsible for 33 percent of their goals this season, it has every chance of doing so once more.
Atletico Madrid to win to nil at 19/20 (1.95) for a 2pt stake with William Hill
William Hill
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