Crvena Zvezda – Celta

The Serbian champions are unlikely to let guests from Spain beat them.

Red Star Belgrade has shown mixed form this season. The football year for the Belgrade club began with an unfulfilled task: to reach the group stage of the Champions League. The path to the elite European tournament was blocked by Pafos. Having fallen into the Europa League, the Serbian champions performed fairly well, but in the domestic league, for the first time in a long time, faced problems. If last season Red Star's lead over second place was 23 points, ten rounds before the end of this season's Serbian Championship Partizan is ahead by one point. This situation pushed Red Star Belgrade's management to replace the head coach. In December Dejan Stankovic was appointed to the club's top sporting post, after recently being dismissed from Spartak Moscow. In recent years under the guidance of Claudio Hiraldez Selte they have managed to play at a fairly high level. Last season the team for the first time in ten years earned the right to represent Spain in European cups. As in the 2016/2017 season, Celta Vigo qualified for the Europa League. Back then the club unexpectedly managed to reach the tournament's semi-finals. In the current edition, the team's mid-term goal under Hiraldez has already been achieved. In the last round, Celta secured a place in the play-offs. It is possible that, should they win in Belgrade, the Vigo club could break into the top eight. However, the likelihood of such an outcome is extremely low. Too many rivals are in a better position. Bookmakers do not really believe in a victory for Celta either, listing the home side as favorites with odds of 2.27. The first match under Stankovic's leadership, Red Star Belgrade played in Malmö, Sweden against the club of the same name. A win over the bottom side of the group stage guaranteed the Serbian team at least playoff ties for the right to participate in the proper knockout stage. The next match will be Red Star Belgrade's first under the new coach in front of their home fans. Knowing Stankovic's crazy emotional temperament, any result in the match against Celta other than a win would mean a failure for him. Let's bet that the home side won't lose at the Marakana.