No Les, no Angela, but the Spaniards are here

Last updated : 05 August 2014 By Tony Scholes

Italian club Hellas Verona are here on Saturday but tonight we host Celta Vigo who ended last season in ninth place in La Liga, their best finish since 2006.

Their recent history has been a case of up and down and back up again. From 1997 to 2003 they didn't finish outside the top seven but a poor 2003/04 season saw them relegated. They were back within a year, but only for two years and their 2007 relegation saw them play outside the top flight for five successive seasons, their worst run since the 1960s.

Promotion came in 2002. In the first season back they were 17th but last season came that big improvement to ninth as they look to establish themselves once more as a top flight club.

I have to say I don't know too much about the current Celta Vigo or their squad, but I am aware that they have just appointed a new head coach in former Argentina international Eduardo Berizzo having lost Luis Enrique who has moved on to Barcelona.

Many of their squad are just names to me but Celta Vigo fan Mani, speaking to Stuart Ferguson in Getting to know you referred to their five international players as ones to watch along with young goalkeeper Ruben Blanco.

None of their five internationals play for Spain. Fabián Orellano and Pablo Hernandez are both from Chile, Michael Krohn-Dehli from Denmark, Augusto Fernandez is from Argentina and Levy Madinda plays for Gabon.

They are cramming four games into their trip to England. They played last Friday night at Norwich and the following afternoon at Wolves; tomorrow they will face Everton before returning home for one more pre-season game against Italian Serie A club Cagliari before their league season kicks off on Sunday 24th August with a home game against Getafe.

The two games they've played previously have both ended in draws.

At Norwich they were 2-0 down within eleven minutes with Lewis Grabban getting both for the home side, but Manuel Agudo Nolito and Michael Krohn-Dehli earned them a draw.

They lined up Rubén Blanco, Jonny, Sergi Gómez, Andreu Fontàs, Carles Planas, Borja Oubiña, Michael Krohn-Dehli, Álex López, Santi Mina, Nolito, Joaquin Larrivey. 

Less than 24 hours later there were changes to the team that drew 1-1 at Wolves in what was described as a lively and fractious game by the home side who accused their visitors of a series of cynical fouls.

Again it was the home side who went in front. Wolves held a 1-0 half time lead through Nouha Dicko, but a Joaquin Larrivey brought the scores level with 25 minutes remaining.

On this occasion the Celta Vigo team was: Sergio Álvarez, Hugo Mallo (Sergi Gómez), Mani (Yelko), Inigo López (Goldar), Charles (Joaquin Larrivey), Fabián Orellano (Fernan), David Costas (Andreu Fontàs), Lévy Madinda (Michael Krohn-Dehli), Cabral (Carles Planas), Samu (Nolito), Augusto Fernández (Jonny).

Tom Heaton could play tonight

As for the Clarets. Apart from Sam Vokes, who will remain out for some months, all of our first team squad have had some action in pre-season apart from goalkeeper Tom Heaton and wide man Michael Kightly.

Heaton has had a calf problem but the good news is he's fit again and I think he is very likely to feature tonight. Kightly, however, remains out but at least, thanks to the investigative work of Chris Boden at the Burnley Express, we've learned what the problem is.

Manager Sean Dyche explained to Chris: "It's just a minor knee thing, a tiny growth on his knee cap. I've never known it but it had to be removed.

"It sounds way more serious than it is, but when they slit your skin, you have to recover, that's all it is, it's just a time issue, there's no major drama."

The last time I saw our players on the Turf Moor pitch they had just collected their promotion medals. Now, less than two weeks before the start of the prize for that promotion, we'll be coming out again, albeit via a different route, onto the pitch for this first home friendly.

The players have had a week in Austria and then a little tour of some of the smaller Lancashire clubs, and now it's back home in the new look Turf Moor.

Dyche will select from: Tom Heaton, Matt Gilks, Alex Cisak, Kieran Trippier, Steven Reid, Luke O'Neill, Michael Duff, Jason Shackell, Kevin Long, Tom Anderson, Ben Mee, Danny Lafferty, Scott Arfield, Ross Wallace, Dean Marney, David Jones, Steven Hewitt, Matt Taylor, Danny Ings, Ashley Barnes, Marvin Sordell, Lukas Jutkiewicz, Jason Gilchrist.

The last time we faced opposition from Spain was nine years ago when we played out a 0-0 draw against Malaga at Turf Moor before heading out to Austria for pre-season.

On that occasion we lined up: Danny Coyne (Brian Jensen 45), Michael Duff, Wayne Thomas, John McGreal, Frank Sinclair, Wade Elliott (Kyle Lafferty 84), Micah Hyde, Artim Sakiri (James O’Connor 48), Garreth O’Connor, Ade Akinbiyi (Graham Branch 65), Gifton Noel-Williams. Sub not used: Chris McCann.