Real Madrid ended a three-game winless La Liga run in Bilbao on Wednesday, but Celta prefer life on the road this season.
Who: Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo
What: Spain’s La Liga
Where: Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain
When: Sunday, December 7, at 9pm (20:00 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the buildup on media Sport from 17:00 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream.
Real Madrid will seek only a second top-flight win in five matches when they entertain Celta Vigo in La Liga on Saturday, an achievement that would see them close the gap on league leaders Barcelona to one point.
It should be a match that sees the record Spanish domestic league winners enter as heavy favourites, but their form of late has allowed Barcelona to leap to the top of the table, while opening up questions about their coach, Xabi Alonso.
media Sport takes a look at a game where Celta’s impressive away record this season could see them cause an upset, but much of the focus will also be on Real’s free-scoring forward, Kylian Mbappe.
French superstar Mbappe is close to making history at Real Madrid, like his idol Cristiano Ronaldo, said his coach, Xabi Alonso, on Saturday.
After finishing last season in top form and starting the current campaign superbly, Mbappe has netted 55 goals with Real Madrid in 2025, and is just four away from matching the record of 59 set in 2013 by Ronaldo, as the club’s top scorer in a calendar year.
Mbappe has been increasingly compared with the all-time top Madrid goalscorer, Ronaldo, by the Spanish press for his growing influence and ability to rack up goals.
“Kylian is on his way to making history at Real Madrid like Cristiano did. Not just because of the importance he has in the team, but also because of the ambition he conveys and the number of goals he scores,” Alonso told a news conference.
“Kylian is one of the chosen ones. He has this desire within him not just to do things well, but also to have a positive influence on others. This is something he shares with Cristiano – this contagious ambition that inspires the rest of the team.”
Winning the European Golden Shoe and La Liga’s top scorer award last season with 31 goals, Mbappe is currently operating at an even higher level, with 16 goals scored in 15 matches played, and nine in five Champions League games.
Real Madrid face Erling Haaland’s Manchester City in the Champions League on December 10, before league games against Alaves and Sevilla, giving Mbappe four matches to catch Ronaldo, who Mbappe admits he had posters of on his wall as a child.
Portugal international Ronaldo scored 450 goals in 438 matches for Real Madrid, with Mbappe on 69 goals in 79 games since joining from Paris Saint-Germain in 2024.
Real’s 3-0 win in La Liga at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday was seen as one of their most impressive displays this season.
Mbappe scored twice, either side of Eduardo Camavinga’s header, to give Real a much-needed win, along with a morale-boosting performance.
The win handed Real their first La Liga win in four games.
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