Celta still seeking its first European goal as Juventus arrives as the slimmest of favorites

Celta de Vigo arrives at Balaidos in need of a response: the club lost its opening fixture in the Europa League league phase and has yet to score a goal in the competition. Standing in the way is Juventus, which did exactly the opposite in its own opener, winning 5-0 to sit on a perfect record.

The contrast in league-phase numbers is stark. Celta played one match, lost it and sit with zero goals scored and one conceded. Juventus, meanwhile, won its only outing so far with a plus-five goal difference, scoring five and conceding none. That gap shows up in the competition's overall standings too: the Italian side sits among the leaders, while Celta sits near the bottom, though with just one game played by each, that snapshot still says little about what's to come.

Looking at each team's current form, Celta arrives somewhat inconsistent: of its last five matches, it won one, drew three and lost one, with draws the dominant theme. Juventus has also had its ups and downs recently, with two wins, one draw and two losses in its last five games, a reminder that Luciano Spalletti's side isn't exactly steamrolling opponents despite the European blowout.

One interesting wrinkle on Juventus: in this season's Europa League sample, with just one match played, the team kept a clean sheet 100% of the time and found the net in the 0-to-15-minute window. That's based on a single game, so it's best read as a one-off snapshot rather than an established trend. Celta, in that same small sample, has yet to keep a clean sheet or score in any time window at all.

Probable lineups

Claudio Giraldez could go with a lineup featuring Ionut Radu in goal, a back line of Marcos Alonso, Yoel Lago and Alvaro Nunez, and Ilaix Moriba, Miguel Roman and Javi Rueda patrolling midfield, with Ferran Jutgla, Pablo Duran, Hugo Alvarez and Hugo Gonzalez leading the attack. This is an estimated lineup based on recent matches, not a confirmed one.

For Juventus, Spalletti could stick with much of the group that romped in the opener: Guglielmo Vicario in goal, a back four of Zeki Celik, Jhon Lucumi, Pierre Kalulu and Bremer, Douglas Luiz, Nico Gonzalez, Weston McKennie and Francisco Conceicao across midfield, and Randal Kolo Muani alongside Kerim Alajbegovic up front. This, too, is a projection rather than an official lineup.

What the odds say

Our model doesn't see a clear favorite in this one, which is itself a notable storyline given a scoreless Celta facing a Juventus side that put five past its opponent in the league phase.

All three outcomes fall into roughly even thirds, with a slight lean toward Juventus. As for expected goals, our own projection puts Celta at 1.12 and Juventus at 1.23, a combined 2.35 that points to a game with scoring chances for both sides. Worth noting: this is an in-house projection built on the season's trends, not a betting line or a definitive prediction.

With Celta chasing its first goal of the competition and Juventus looking to back up its lopsided opening win, Balaidos hosts a Europa League league-phase match that, at least on paper, is far from a foregone conclusion.