"We are very excited about Europe," Ferran Jutglà said before Celta Vigo face Juventus, and that has become the main thread around this tie. This is Juventus' first visit to Vigo in more than 26 years, Balaídos is set for a full house, and Celta are still carrying the frustration of the 1-0 defeat in Nicosia against Omonia.

Celta's mood inside the camp

Jutglà, speaking to Estadio Deportivo, added: "Now to prepare well for the match against Juventus and then we'll think about Alavés." Aleix Febas pushed the same line, asking supporters to stay with the side because "we will give everything" and promising "a very nice match at Balaídos." Yoel Lago was just as direct, saying the team must treat it with the same importance as any other game and go for the three points.

That attitude is doing a lot of the work here. Celta's European record is 0-0-1, they have 0 goals for and 1 against in the competition, and their league form, 1-5-2, shows a side that has been hard to beat but not yet ruthless enough. Two straight clean sheets before Juventus at least give Claudio Giráldez a defensive base, even if he still has three absentees in Miguel Román, Carl Starfelt and Jones-El Abdellaoui.

Juventus bring the threat

Juventus arrive with a 1-0-0 start in the Europa League after scoring five against NEC Nijmegen, and that makes the fixture more than just a night of atmosphere. They are also missing several players, including Manuel Locatelli, Kenan Yildiz, Khephren Thuram, Jeremie Boga and Jeff Ekhator, so Celta have a reason to believe the match can be awkward if Balaídos gets behind them early.

The home side's best route is the one the players keep describing, an emotional European night matched by discipline and effort. The crowd, the long gap since Juventus last came to Vigo and the need to respond after Omonia all point in the same direction, but Celta still have to turn that feeling into a result on 15 October, when Celta Vigo vs Juventus is played.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →