Bet of the day: Celta to hold Barca in Copa del Rey clash
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Galician outfit can continue recent trend
Celta Vigo host Barcelona tonight in the first leg of a Copa del Rey Last-16 clash at Estadio Balaidos.
Ernesto Valverde is expected to ring the changes for Barca. Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez only returned to training on Tuesday so probably won’t feature here.
That leaves a likely line-up in attack of Gerard Deulofeu, Jose Arnaiz, and Aleix Vidal. Ousmane Dembele is back fit after a lengthy lay-off but will have to settle for a place on the bench.
Celta will look to take a decent result to Camp Nou for the second leg. The Galician outfit will not rotate like Barca.
Juan Carlos Unzue will start a full-strength XI including the likes of Iago Aspas, Maximiliano Gomez, and Pione Sisto.
Celta have lost just two of their last five against the Catalan giants and will be determined to avoid defeat again here.
The Coral Bet of the Day is Celta Vigo on the Double Chance market at 6/5.
Goals galore
There tends to be a lot of goals when Celta and Barca meet, particularly at the Balaidos.
Recent clashes here have seen 2-3, 2-2, 3-0, 4-1 and 4-3 results. Only once since 2006 has this fixture gone Under 2.5 Goals.
Celta have been on the up over the last few seasons and tend to play with a fast-flowing counter-attacking style.
Can we rely on Celta?
If there’s a club who have had Barcelona’s number the last couple of seasons, it’s definitely Celta Vigo.
The Galicians have already held Barca to a 2-2 draw in La Liga in early December at Camp Nou.
The Catalonians have also fallen to two bad defeats at the Balaidos in their previous two visits – conceding four goals on both occasions.
Unzue’s side will be confident going into this. With a host of Barca stars likely to be given the night off, the 4/1 on Celta winning looks tempting.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
