Celta host Alavés at Balaídos on Sunday at 16:15 in the ninth jornada of LaLiga EA Sports, a meeting that lands at a demanding moment for Claudio Giráldez’s side. Celta are coming off an extra-time loss to Juventus, and this will be their third match in seven days.
The search around Celta de Vigo vs Alavés is driven by the timing as much as the table. Celta have won only one LaLiga match so far, yet they have allowed just six goals, while Alavés have conceded eight and still have not won away from home. They have drawn with Rayo and Athletic Club on the road, but that leaves them with one point from their last 12 available.
Giráldez has still not repeated a starting lineup since taking charge of the first team, and the load now points toward changes again. Celta are expected to give minutes to the second unit because of the congestion, although the probable lineup still includes Radu, Javi Rodríguez, Cáceres and Marcos Alonso. That balance matters because the defensive numbers are solid, but the points return has not matched them, and Sunday arrives after the blow of seeing a European tie slip away in extra time.
Alavés arrive with their own straight lines and their own worries. José Luis Munuera Montero will referee the match, and the probable visiting XI includes Sivera, Tenaglia, Valentini, Koski, Otto, Rebbach, Blanco, Ibáñez, Denis, Boyé and Toni. Lucas Boyé and Toni Martínez are the fixed attacking references, while the absence of Ángel Pérez through suspension, plus long-term injuries to Facu Garcés and Mikel Rodríguez, narrows the options. Quique Sánchez Flores will remember Balaídos well: five months earlier he won there in his first match as Alavés coach, after a 3-4 comeback from 3-0 down in the second half.
That memory gives this fixture an edge, but it also sharpens the practical question for Celta: how much can Giráldez rotate without losing control? On Thursday, they visit Celtic in Glasgow in the Europa League, so Sunday is not just another league date. It is a test of whether Celta can turn defensive stability into a result before the schedule forces them back onto the road.
