Holders Barcelona were handed the toughest test of all the big guns in Tuesday’s draw for the Copa del Rey last 16 after being paired with bogey side Celta Vigo.
Celta have proved far from comfortable opponents for Barca in recent years, beating them three times in their last seven league meetings as well as holding the La Liga leaders to a 2-2 draw at the Nou Camp on Saturday.
That was the first time since March that Barca have dropped points at home – during which time they had won 18 successive matches by a combined 70-13 scoreline – and shows the threat Celta pose to the Catalan club’s hopes of winning a fourth successive Copa crown.
Barca’s main rivals for cup glory next summer are likely to have been far happier with their draws, although those ties also included some potential banana skins.
#SorteoCopa | ¡Así quedan los octavos de final de la #CopaDelRey! pic.twitter.com/XiML2nH6it
— RFEF (@rfef) December 5, 2017
Atletico Madrid will be expected to beat third-tier Lleida – a tie which could possibly see Diego Costa make his return for the club – but Real Madrid and Sevilla were handed trickier-looking clashes against Segunda Division high-fliers Numancia and Cadiz, respectively.
Cadiz have won their last six matches in all competitions and beat Sevilla’s arch-rivals Real Betis in the last round of the cup.
Valencia, second in the top flight, face struggling Las Palmas for a place in the quarter-finals while Villarreal meet Leganes in another all-La Liga encounter.
The remaining clashes see last year’s beaten finalists Alaves face Segunda B Formentera – the lowest-placed team left in the competition – and Espanyol take on Levante.
The ties will be played in the first two weeks of January.
