Aidoo Returns to Celta Squad for Mallorca Clash as Cervi Continues to Miss Out
Celta de Vigo name their 24-man squad for Sunday's home game against Mallorca, with Joseph Aidoo back in and Franco Cervi again left out.
Claudio Giráldez took a bit longer than usual to name his squad this week — not exactly a surprise given the injury headaches piling up at Balaídos — but the list is out ahead of Sunday’s La Liga home fixture against Mallorca.
Aidoo’s Back, Yoel Lago Makes Way
The headline change from the PAOK Europa League squad is the return of Ghanaian centre-back Joseph Aidoo. He’s back in the 24-man group, which is decent news for Celta’s defensive options. The bloke who pays the price for that is academy lad Yoel Lago, who drops out to make room. Tough one for the youngster, but that’s the nature of the game when the senior options are fit again.
Cervi? Still Nowhere to Be Seen
Franco Cervi is the other notable absentee, and honestly, at this point it’s becoming a bit of a habit. The Argentine winger is the outfield player with the fewest minutes in the entire Celta squad — and remarkably, he hasn’t made a single La Liga appearance this season. Not one. Even with all the rotation Giráldez likes to do, Cervi just can’t seem to force his way into the manager’s thinking. That’s a proper difficult situation for any professional footballer to find himself in.
Injury Update
A couple of players remain sidelined through injury:
- Hugo Sotelo — still out, no further detail given
- Álvaro Núñez — also unavailable, but the news here is more positive. The new signing has been dealing with a pubic injury (pubalgia), but he’s reportedly progressing well and his Celta debut is starting to look like it’s just around the corner
What to Expect on Sunday
Mallorca rocking up to Balaídos is no walk in the park — they’re a well-organised, hard-to-beat side and Celta will need to be at it. With Aidoo back in the mix, there’s a bit more solidity at the back, which’ll be important. The home crowd will be hoping Giráldez can put together a performance after what’s been a demanding week with European football thrown into the mix as well.
Keep an eye on whether any of the fringe players get a look-in — Giráldez does like to rotate, even if Cervi seemingly never benefits from that particular generosity.