Celta Vigo vs Real Madrid Preview

Javier Hernandez will get another chance to prove his worth to Real Madrid when the European champions try to keep their Primera Division title hopes alive at Celta Vigo on Sunday.

Hernandez was Real’s Champions League hero on Wednesday when his 88th-minute goal finally broke the resistance of city neighbours Atletico in their quarter-final second leg at the Bernabeu.

But the Mexican’s future remains shrouded in uncertainty as Real ponder whether to turn his season-long loan from Manchester United into a permanent move, with Spanish media reporting that Madrid have a 10million euros option to buy the 26-year-old striker.

Hernandez’s United contract expires in 2016 and he will again deputise for the injured Karim Benzema at Balaidos with the praise of Real manager Carlo Ancelotti ringing in his ears.

“He was a fantastic solution because he played really well with a lot of intensity,” Ancelotti said after Hernandez’s sixth goal for Real fired Los Blancos into a fifth straight semi-final of the Champions League.

“He deserved it because he hasn’t played a lot this season but when I told him to play he was ready.

“He was professional and I’m happy for him.”

Benzema (knee), Luka Modric (knee) and Gareth Bale (calf) will all be missing again as Real hope for the opportunity to close the gap on league leaders Barcelona, who could increase their two-point advantage at derby rivals Espanyol on Saturday night.

But Real lost 2-0 at Celta in the penultimate game of the 2013-14 campaign, a result which ended their hopes of reclaiming the league trophy, and the Pontevedran club have hit a rich vein of form in the last fortnight.

Ninth-placed Celta followed up a 6-1 drubbing of Rayo Vallecano to beat Eibar 1-0 last weekend and keep alive their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Europa League.

“The dream of reaching Europe is still alive and hopefully we’ll play well to please our fans,” Celta’s Spain Under-21 full-back Jonny said at a press conference this week.

“There are six games left and we’ll compete to the death in every one of them.”

On the visit of Real, he added: “We know they’ll be coming here with some people missing but they still have a great bench.

“All their players are of a very high standard and they’ll be giving their all because they are playing for the title, but we can compete against the big sides.

“This is a team that is growing and moving forward, and if we can get hold of the ball then we can hurt them.”