Deportivo La Coruna vs Celta Vigo preview - Nolito hits back at Depor claims

Posted Saturday, February 21, 2015 by PA

Celta Vigo forward Nolito has dismissed the claims of Deportivo La Coruna defender Pablo Insua that the Riazor club is "the biggest team in Galicia".

Celta and Depor face each other at Riazor on Saturday in what promises to be another tense and passionate Galician derby.

Galicia-native Insua stirred tensions before the match by calling Depor "the number one team in Galicia in every sense".

But Nolito, who scored the first goal in a 2-0 win over champions Atletico Madrid last week, hit back in defence of his club.

He told a press conference: "For me there are two teams in Galicia, Celta and Depor.

"I respect Insua but I am not interested in what he has to say. We need to do the talking on the pitch.

"The other day no-one would have backed Celta to beat Atletico but in the end that's what we did, we got the three points and deserved them too."

The win over Atletico took Celta up to ninth in the Primera Division table, four points above their local rivals.

But Nolito said: "I sincerely think there are no favourites in a derby because anyone can win.

"Perhaps they are the slight favourites because they are playing at home but we're going there with the objective of taking the three points away with us."

Celta are without Hugo Mallo and Borja Oubina, while Carles Planas is doubtful. Deportivo have full-back Laure suspended, while Helder Postiga, Luis Farina, Salomao and Toche are all injured.

Depor produced an impressive display at the Bernabeu last weekend but still came away losing 2-0 to Real Madrid.

But according to Insua, the derby with Celta is an even more important game to his club than clashes with Madrid.

"The points are worth the same in every game but if I had to choose to win a game, I would prefer it was the derby," he told a press conference.

"This is a very special game for us. This is one of the most exciting games you can watch in the league, the best derby right now, and we cannot wait for Saturday to arrive."