After hammering Sevilla 6:1 in Copa Del Ray midweek, Barcelona players must be fired up and eager to face Valencia on Saturday. They’re hoping to do something similar not just in order to grab points needed for staying on the top of La Liga table till the end of the season, but also to give the fans from the stands of Camp Nou. Of course, the visitors are hoping they could cause an upset here and to find out can they do it, make sure to read the following Barcelona vs Valencia prediction and betting tips!
Barcelona
Barcelona are at the top of the table in La Liga, but their lead isn’t as comfortable as they’d like. Right now, they have only 5 points more than Atletico Madrid. And considering that the Champions League returns soon, Barca are going to have a lot of hard work in the following months.
The good news is that they seem ready for it. They’re in a fantastic run, winning 6 games since the beginning of the year. They did lose 2 games in the cup, but still managed to progress forward. And they did it with style! After losing 2:0 to Sevilla in the first leg, they got their revenge in the second.
Barca’s success this season comes mostly from Leo Messi’s excellent form. But, unlike last season, this year, they seem capable of doing well even when he’s not around. Messi is their best player, there’s no doubt about it, but Suarez has also been excellent this season. The same goes for Dembele, Coutinho, and in fact, all the other players from Barca’s first team.
They’ve all been simply brilliant when it comes to scoring goals. In La Liga, they’ve scored a total of 58 goals in 21 games, which is 22 goals more than what the second top-scoring team has scored. And 36 of those 58 goals were scored at Camp Nou.
Valencia
Their plan for this season is to books a spot in the Europa League or even challenge one of the spots reserved for Champions League. Right now, they’re below that position, but who knows what the future brings. They will just have to keep on playing well.
Valencia have been in a pretty decent form in La Liga since the year started, winning a total of 7 points in 4 matches. And 6 of those points they won by winning two previous La Liga matches. Unfortunately, the chances that they’ll win the 3rd league game in a row are slim, because they’re playing against Barcelona at Camp Nou.
Camp Nou is the place where Valencia beat Barca only on 2 occasions in this decade while losing 10 times. And in 2018, they lost both of the duels played at this stadium. But, they didn’t get hammered in those games, which gives them a hope that they could get something out of the Saturday’s game. In fact, Valencia didn’t lose with over 2 goals difference in any of their previous 9 meetings. But, 10 matches ago, they got battered 7:0.
Team News
Barcelona absentees:
- Sergio Busquets (yellow cards)
- Samuel Umtiti (injury)
- Ousmane Dembele (injury)
- Rafinha (injury)
Valencia absentees:
- Francis Coquelin (personal reasons)
- Javier Jimenez Garcia (injury)
- Geoffrey Kondogbia (injury)
- Goncalo Guedes (doubtful)
- Ezequiel Garay (doubtful)
Possible Lineups
Barcelona
Ter Stegen – Pique, Vermaelen, Semedo, Alba – Busquets, Vidal, Rakitic – Messi, Coutinho, Suarez
Valencia
Neto – Diakhaby, Paulista, Piccini, Gaya – Perejo, Soler, Cheryshev, Wass – Mina, Rodrigo
Barcelona vs Valencia Prediction
Barca will win this, there’s no doubt about that. And they’re going to score many goals along the way. And even Valencia might score one or two, which is why my betting advice is to go with over 3.5.
Barcelona vs Valencia Betting Tips
- Barcelona @1.30 (Unibet)
- Over 3.5 Goals @2.00 (1Xbet)