Copa del Rey
Celta 1-1 Barcelona: Copa del Rey, last 16 match report, goals, action
A Jose Arnaiz goal was cancelled out by a Pione Sisto strike in the first half as the rain fell on Balaídos in the Copa del Rey first leg between Celta and Barca. Valencia-Barcelona: Copa del Rey
Celta Vigo 1-1 Barcelona: match report
King's Cup holders Barcelona still have work to do if they are to remain in the competition after being held to a 1-1 draw at Celta Vigo in a last-16 first-leg game on Thursday.
Barca forward Jose Arnaiz, who usually plays for the reserve side, poked in Andre Gomes's low cross to complete a sweeping counter-attack and put Barca ahead in the 15th minute, scoring for the third Cup game in a row.
Denmark international Pione Sisto levelled for Celta in the 31st, smashing the ball into the roof of the net on the rebound after Iago Aspas had hit the underside of the crossbar.
Barca's record signing Ousmane Dembele came on in the second half to make his first appearance since rupturing his hamstring in September and nearly scored the winner, but his low shot was saved by Celta goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez.
Barca hit the woodwork twice, Sergio Busquets crashing a shot against the bar and Sergio Roberto striking the post in stoppage time while Turkish international Emre Mor went close to grabbing a winner for Celta.
Barca have now failed to win on their last three visits to Celta's Balaidos stadium, losing 4-3 and 4-1 in their last trips in La Liga.
Coach Ernesto Valverde made seven changes to the Barca side that beat Real Madrid 3-0 in their last game while Celta, coached by former Barca assistant Juan Carlos Unzue, fielded a full-strength team.
The second leg at the Nou Camp takes place on Jan. 11.
Celta Vigo vs Barcelona live stream online: as it happened
Celta Vigo vs Barcelona live stream online: match preview
It was only a month ago when Celta went to the Camp Nou and returned home with a very credible 2-2 draw so although the viistors will start favourites for this tie, they will certainly not be able to take it for granted and we can expect to see a strong line up from both managers.
Celta Vigo team news
The home side are currently coached by former Barca goalkeeper and assistant manager Juan Carlos Unzue and he will relish the opportunity to progress in the competition at their expense. And the biggest surprise in last season's competition was caused by the Galician side when they ousted Real Madrid - the same side that conquered league and Europe in their record-breaking campaign.
Celta reside in a congested mid-table position in LaLiga at the halfway stage, with their opponents having collected more than double their points haul already, and will be looking at the cup as a realistic source of silverware. One player who seems certain to miss out on that quest is Swedish striker John Guidetti who is on the verge of a loan-to-permanent move to Alavés and has been left out of the squad. The noisy home fans will be looking to Iago Aspas and Maxi Gomez to provide a threat against their illustrious guests.
Barcelona team news
Holders Barcelona are riding high in LaLiga and despite several question marks over their early season performances, have been able to pick up points as others have dropped them, and now find themselves at the start of the new year with an upturn in form - seen before the break with their 0-3 hammering of bitter rivals Real Madrid - to take them to new heights at home and abroad.
A bonus for Ernesto Valverde is that he should be able to welcome back striker Ousmane Dembele, who has been sidelined since September, who has been cleared to make his comeback in this clash. The French international has not played since tearing his hamstring at Getafe on September 16, just three games into his Barca career following a 105-million-euro move from Borussia Dortmund that could rise to as much as 145 million euros.
"After a lengthy recovery process from an injury to the femoral biceps on his left thigh, the 20-year-old Frenchman is now available for Valverde," Barcelona said on Tuesday.
How the Catalan giants choose to line up though, with a home game against Levante awaiting them on Sunday, will be interesting to see.
Celta Vigo vs Barcelona live stream online: betting odds
Some punters may see value in going for a Celta win in the first leg seeing that you can get back 4.5 times your stake but if you're confident in a narrow Barça win, either 0-1 or 0-2 can be found at 10/1.