The Yellow Submarine travel to Balaídos to face Celta as league leaders
Villarreal CF visit RC Celta this Sunday, 31st August, at 5pm CEST, at the Estadio Abanca Balaídos on Matchday 3 of LALIGA EA Sports.
After a resounding 5-0 win at the Estadio de la Cerámica against Girona FC, the Yellows will play their first away match of the season. Their opponents, Celta de Vigo, come into the game after drawing their second league fixture 1-1 against RCD Mallorca at Son Moix and the rescheduled match of Matchday 6 against Real Betis (1-1).
Villarreal now have a golden opportunity to extend their excellent start to the campaign and equal their record of nine consecutive league wins, first achieved in 2007. What’s more, the Yellow Submarine head into this third matchday sitting top of the table — a position they have not held since September 2015.
An exciting project
Claudio Giráldez’s Celta are heading into an exciting season as they return to European competition. Last term, they finished seventh with 55 points, building a solid squad that combines academy talent with experienced professionals. In addition, the Galician side have strengthened this summer with high-profile signings such as Ferrán Jutglà and Bryan Zaragoza, among others.
The 2025/26 campaign, however, has not got off to the best of starts. So far, they have only collected one point from a possible six, after losing to Getafe CF (0-1) and drawing with RCD Mallorca (1-1).
Villarreal CF and RC Celta have met 38 times in the top flight, with the balance slightly in favour of the Yellow Submarine (16 wins, seven draws and 15 defeats). However, at Balaídos the advantage lies with the home side, where Villarreal have managed just 5 wins and 5 draws compared to 9 losses.
A total of 13 players have worn both shirts, including Juan Manuel Peña, Ángel López, Giuseppe Rossi and Denis Suárez — the latter being the most recent and the only one still part of Villarreal CF’s current squad.
