Barcelona take to the Camp Nou against Valencia with a sense of foreboding involved in the match build up. Barcelona haven’t really had a good last couple of weeks after dominating La Liga for most of the season.
In the last few weeks, the Catalan side have been knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by rivals Atletico Madrid and will look to avoid handing the initiative in La Liga after slipping in the league to Classico rivals Real Madrid and bogie team Real Sociedad in quick succession.
Atletico sit three points below Barcelona in the table and will be waiting for Barcelona to slip up. Valencia have nothing to lose really after a season that has been disastrous to say the least. After having sacked Gary Neville, Valencia seem better as of now and could pose problems for Barcelona should they decide to turn up for the match.
Kickoff and Live Telecast
Channel: Sony ESPN
Date and Time: 17th April, 2016; 12:00 A.M. IST
Venue: Camp Nou
Live Stream: http://www.starsports.com/football/leagues/spanish-la-liga-100054/index.html
Betting Odds: Barcelona - 1/7; Draw 8/1; Valencia 16/1 via Bet365
Team News
Barcelona
Barcelona will be without Arda Turan for the game who will serve a ban for the accumulation of five yellow cards. Luis Suarez will however, be available for Barcelona and will start alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar for the game. Claudio Bravo is expected to return to keeping duty and Sergi Roberto could fill in at right back.
Valencia
Valencia will be without the services of Pablo Piatti, Sofiane Feghouli and Denis Cheryshev for this game, leaving the Valencia line up slightly short on options for the front three. The remaining lineup is expected to stay primarily the same for this match.
Probable Lineups
Barcelona (4-3-3): Bravo; Roberto, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Iniesta, Busquets, Rakitic; Messi, Suarez, Neymar
Valencia (4-3-3): Alves; Cancelo, Mustafi, Abdennour, Gaya; Parejo, Gomes, Fuego; Mina, Rodrigo, Alcacer
Form
Barcelona
Barcelona step into this game on the back of a abysmal run of form dragging them down. The Catalans have won just 1 of their last 5 games in all competitions. They managed a draw against Villarreal and lost to Real Sociedad, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid during this time. Barcelona have also failed to score in their last two games which is quite a concern.
Last 5 Matches: D-L-W-L-L0 (Last Match: Atletico Madrid 2-0 Barcelona)
Valencia
Valencia have had a terrible season and their form guide doesn’t indicate anything different. Valencia have lost three of their last five games and have won two. The two came against Athletic Club and Sevilla. Valencia, during this time, have lost to Las Palmas, Celta Vigo and even Levante.
Last 5 Matches: L-W-L-L-W ( Last Match: Valencia 2-1 Sevilla)
Key Stats:
- Barcelona have lost 3 of their last 4 matches in all competitions.
- Barcelona have won 9 of their last 10 matches against Valencia in all competitions
- There have been an average of 2.5 goals or more scored at the Camp Nou in the last 15 games Barcelona have played at home this season.
- Barcelona have been winning at both half time and full time in 5 of their last 6 games against Valencia in all competitions.
Key Battles:
Santi Mina vs Sergi RobertoSanti Mina has been a bit of a revelation for Valencia in a season that has otherwise been quite dire. The 20-year-old Spanish forward has managed to rack up 6 goals and 4 assists in 24 appearances across all competitions and has been particularly ruthless in the Europa League with 3 goals and 3 assists in 2 appearances.
Considering the likelihood that Santi Mina will be up against Barcelona’s very own revelation in Sergi Roberto, this could turn into a fine battle as the two youngsters battle it out for the night with both teams under considerable pressure to produce results, the battle between the two youngsters could determine a lot.
Lionel Messi vs Jose Gaya
The world’s best against Spain’s next great left back. This would be a match worth every penny for any viewer had both players not had such dire situations surrounding them. Lionel Messi hasn’t scored in 400 minutes of action and Barcelona’s slump has coincided with his drop in form.
This has had a massive impact on the title race and has evidently even hampered Barcelona’s chances of retaining their Champions League title. Considering the things at stake stakes in this game, Lionel Messi simply has to show up.
Jose Luis Gaya meanwhile has had an indifferent season. It may not have helped that he had Gary Neville managing him and has a different manager now. However, the young defender seems to have lost an opportunity to grow this season. He could however cap the season off with a string of performances that might give him something to look forward to going into the Euros. What better way to do that than silence Lionel Messi?
Prediction
Ideally Barcelona are just too strong at the Camp Nou but they are in the middle of a slump making it hard to say what happens here and Valencia do step into the game on the back of a solid game against Sevilla. However, this is at the Camp Nou and most of Barcelona’s poor results have been on the road. Hence, it may be that Barcelona manage to regain some momentum here.
Barcelona 2-0 Valencia.
