Buoyed by the away win over Deportivo La Coruna, Celta Vigo head into the first leg of their Copa del Rey clash against Barcelona in good spirits.

Meanwhile, the Catalans ended 2017 with a 3-0 hammering of Real Madrid and will be hoping to kick off 2018 in the same manner.

Celta Vigo impressed to reach the Europa League semis last season, but the European exploits affected their La Liga performances, resulting in a 13th-place finish.

The Sky Blues in turn decided to reinforce their ranks, signing Maxi Gomez, Jozabed and Emre Mor, among others, but they haven’t been doing much better this term.

After 17 rounds, Celta find themselves in 11th position, although their rivals for European positions are not too far away.

The Sky Blues ended a poor run of results as they defeated Deportivo La Coruna on the road, but they now face a very difficult fixture list.

Namely, Celta Vigo will face Barcelona (twice) and Real Madrid in their first three fixtures of 2018, meaning they will have their work cut out for them.

Swedish midfielder Daniel Wass is unlikely to be risked on Thursday after suffering an ankle injury, but Stanislav Lobotka has recovered from flu.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Alvarez – Mallo, Cabral, Fontas, Jonny – Brais Mendez, Radoja, Jozabed – Mor, Guidetti, Hjulsager.

Barcelona are enjoying a season to remember on all fronts, but they obviously need to continue in the same manner in the next five months.

The Catalans eased off to a place in the Champions League knockout stages where they will face English champions Chelsea, while they are already closing in on the La Liga trophy.

The impressive 3-0 triumph at Santiago Bernabeu saw Barcelona move 14 points clear of Real Madrid, while they hold a nine-point advantage over second-placed Atletico Madrid.

The Catalans will now be vying Celta Vigo for a place in the Copa del Rey last eight and they can be backed at 1.57 (4/7) to win the first leg.

Ernesto Valverde has welcomed back Ousmane Dembele from injury, while the likes of Suarez, Messi and Mascherano were allowed to return late from the holidays.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Cillessen – Vidal, Pique, Vermaelen, Digne – Denis Suarez, S. Busquets, Andre Gomes – Dembele, Suarez, Deulofeu.