Celta opens its LaLiga EA Sports season at Mestalla at 19.30, and the trip to Valencia carries extra weight because the club is starting one week late after the first jornada was pushed back over the poor condition of Balaídos's pitch. For a team that has already lost Matías Vecino and ruled out Carles Pérez, the opening night is less about settling into a routine than finding a lineup that holds together.
The game is also being read through Iago Aspas, in what is described as the last active season of his career, which gives every decision around the attack a sharper edge. The match will be shown on Movistar LaLiga, and the search is already on for clues about who will walk out at Mestalla when Celta finally gets its campaign under way.
Ilaix Moriba is back in the squad after missing the preseason mini-tour in Italy because of low physical condition, and that return matters because it points to a squad that is healthier than it was two weeks ago. Javi Galán and Pablo Durán are also available after leaving the medical room, while Claudio Giráldez has made clear that Moriba's place is not decorative: he said the midfielder has been very important, is expected to be again and has trained well enough to earn his call-up.
That does not mean the coach has settled on the XI. Giráldez has not repeated a lineup since arriving with the first team, and he is again weighing changes across the field, from Radu with the edge in goal over Altay Bayindir, to Javi Rodríguez and Marcos Alonso as the safest central defenders, with Yoel Lago and Carl Starfelt still competing for the other central spot. Javi Rueda is favored on the right, Álvaro Núñez is the backup plan there, Sergio Carreira is expected on the left, and Miguel Román with Aleix Febas look set as the midfield pair.
The biggest uncertainty sits where the crowd notices first. The attacking line could include Iago Aspas or Hugo González, the preseason top scorer and a debut candidate in Primera against the club he was formed by. That choice captures the mood around Celta's delayed start: a side with some important names back, some regulars gone and a coach who is still leaving room for surprises before kickoff at Mestalla.
What Celta gets next is not another round of talk but the first answer. By 19.30, the team will either look like a side that has used the extra week well or one still searching for its shape, and the lineup Giráldez sends out will say more than any rehearsal ever could.
