Spanish club Barcelona are out of the title race in La Liga since Real Madrid are about to win the league. Barcelona’s prime focus is now to end the league to get as much closer to Real Madrid as possible. The Catalan club is now in 3rd with 14 points behind the table topper Real Madrid. But a win over Valencia would take them to the 2nd, replacing Girona.
This season has been a bit difficult for Barcelona under Xavi Hernandez. He decided to leave the club at the end of the season, but Xavi changed his mind after a meeting with the board president and other officials. Xavi will continue at Barcelona for the next season.
Stats & Facts
- After winning six back-to-back matches across all competitions, Barcelona have lost their last two games in a row.
- Since Barcelona lost their most recent match against Real Madrid, a defeat against Valencia would see them losing consecutive matches for the first time this season.
- Barcelona have a strong league record against Valencia. They have lost only one of their last 15 league meetings with Valencia. Their only defeat during this run came in 2020 when Valencia registered a 2-0 win over Barcelona.
- Valencia have won their last two away games. A win over Barcelona would see them winning three consecutive games away from home for the first time since 2017.
- Valencia have kept three clean sheets in their last four games in the league, while Barcelona kept only one clean sheet in their previous four matches.
Team News
Barcelona lost their key midfielder, Frankie De Jong, during the match against Real Madrid. Frankie picked up an ankle injury and was taken off in the first half. The Dutch midfielder is likely to miss the rest of the season.
Gavi is suffering from an ACL injury, while Alejandro Balde is out of the squad due to a hamstring injury. Fellow midfielder Pedri is in doubt as he didn’t train during the week.
As for Valencia, they will be without Mouctar Diakhaby and Jose Gaya due to their respective injury. Striker Roman Yaremchuk is also out of contention as he didn’t make an appearance this month.
Possible Lineup for Barcelona:
Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Cancelo; Pedri, Christensen, Gundogan; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha
Possible Lineup for Valencia:
Mamardashvili; Correia, Mosquera, Ozkacar, Vazquez; Canos, Pepelu, Guerra, Lopez; Duro, Almeida
Prediction: Barcelona 2-0 Valencia
Barcelona have a very good record against Valencia at their home. Although the Xavi boys suffered two defeats in a row, they are still strong enough to beat Valencia. It will be Xavi Hernandez’s first match after he made the decision to stay at the club. So we are expecting Barcelona to win this match.
Betfair Odds
Barcelona: 1.39
Draw: 5.18
Valencia: 8.80
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