Barcelona will aim to bounce back from their Champions League disappointment when they travel to the Mestalla to face Valencia in La Liga on Saturday night.
Valencia take on Barcelona at the Mestalla in what promises to be a fascinating and intense encounter under the floodlights. Valencia’s unpredictability has become their biggest enemy, while Barcelona will have to deal with the nasty consequences of yet another season of Europa League action post-Christmas.
Barcelona were ousted from the UEFA Champions League earlier this week after they were brushed aside 3-0 by European rivals Bayern Munich. While the ultimate demise was never in doubt and anticipated well before the game, it was the manner of the defeat and incompetence to barely lay down a glove at the opposition on home turf that was a tough pill to swallow for the Blaugranaย faithful.
Inter Milan’s thrashing of Viktoria Plzen in the early kick-off meant that the outcome of the Bayern game was irrelevant for Barcelona, who had already been relegated to the Europa League. As if that was not enough, Xavi’s men downed tools in front of their own supporters, which is simply unacceptable.
However, Xavi’s troops have fared far better in La Liga, where they have won nine of their opening 11 games. There’s no time to mull for Barcelona ahead of a busy pre-World Cup schedule, and they will have to dust themselves up quickly ahead of a tricky domestic clash against Valencia this weekend.
Valencia are in ninth place in the La Liga standings at the moment and have improved after a slow start to the season. Los Che fell to a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Mallorca last time out, but that was their first loss in six (W2, D4). Gennaro Gattuso’s side will need to step up this weekend.
Barcelona swatted Valencia aside 4-1 when the two sides last met in February. Ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter.
Team News & Tactics
Valencia
๐ La fiesta del @Guaje7Villa en #Mestalla es la fiesta de todos ๐ฆ
ยก๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฬ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ๐คฬ๐ง๐๐๐ค, ๐๐ข๐ค๐๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐ #ADNVCF!#ValenciaBarรงa pic.twitter.com/7ZzZe8uihR
— Valencia CF (@valenciacf) October 28, 2022
Similar to his counterpart in the Barcelona dugout, Valencia boss Gennaro Gattuso will have to make do without several key players due to injury concerns. Jaume Domenech is still sidelined for Valencia as he recovers from a knee injury. Samu Castillejo is also ruled out with a back strain, while Eray Comert and Mouctar Diakhaby are both doubtful due to muscle problems.
Los Che play aggressive, technical, and tenacious football under their fearsome boss. Gattuso prefers to set his team up in a 4-3-3 formation and is likely to name an unchanged XI here.
Giorgi Mamardashvili will be a busy man between the sticks for the hosts and will need all the protection he can get from the back four, comprising Hugo Guillamon, and Gabriel Paulista as the centre-backs. Thierry Correia and Jose Gaya will line up as the full-backs, who will need to stay on their toes up against Ousmane Dembele and Ansu Fati.
Up ahead in midfield, the onus will be on the trident of Yunus Musah, Andre Almeida, and Dimitri Foulquier to not only keep Barcelona’s buzzing midfielders in check and provide defensive support but also look to provide the creative impetus from central areas.
Edinson Cavani has made an immediate impact for the Bats, hitting four goals in his last three appearances, with Samuel Lino and Justin Kluivert being the two wide men.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3):ย Mamardashvili; Correia, Paulista, Guillamon, Gaya; Musah, Almeida, Foulquier; Kluivert, Cavani, Lino
Barcelona
Xavi Hernandez is expected to be without Andreas Christensen (ankle) and Memphis Depay (hamstring) for the match. Ronald Araujo (thigh) and Sergi Roberto (shoulder) are definitely out. Fatigue could be catching up with Barcelona, so it would not be a surprise to see a flurry of changes made by Xavi, especially off the back of a horrible result.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been in imperious form in La Liga, keeping an impressive nine clean sheets in his last eleven league encounters. The German shot-stopper is a certainty under the woodwork for Barcelona on Saturday night.
๐ฅ Jules Kounde and the beautiful blue training kit
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 28, 2022
With Christensen a doubt for the fixture, Jules Kounde, and Eric Garcia should slot at the heart of the defence. Marcos Alonso will thus drop from his unfavoured position and the starting XI altogether. Hector Bellerin looked rusty against Bayern and will look to make amends at right-back, while young Alejandro Balde is likely to be trusted once again at left-back.
Barcelona’s midfield had a nightmare against Bayern. They looked completely unbalanced, overwhelmed, and failed to set the tempo. Thus, there could be some major surgery in the middle of the park. Sergio Busquets and Franck Kessie are set to be relegated to the bench after terrible displays last time out. Gavi could make a return to the starting eleven, with Pedri switching back into midfield alongside Frenkie de Jong to complete a midfield trifecta.
Ansu Fati is expected to be recalled to the Barcelona eleven after coming on as a second-half substitute in the defeat to Bayern. He will try to put his pace and trickery to good use on the left flank, while Ousmane Dembele will aim to continue his excellent domestic form after scoring one and assisting three against Athletic Club last time out.
Fati and Dembele must provide good service from wide areas for Robert Lewandowski to thrive in the box. Lewandowski should be raring to find the back of the net at the weekend after firing a blank against Bayern.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Bellerin, Kounde, Garcia, Balde; Gavi, de Jong, Pedri; Dembele, Lewandowski, Fati
Key Stats
- Barcelona have won nine of their last ten La Liga games.
- While they have been shoddy at the back in Europe, Barcelona’s defensive unit remains the best in the domestic circuit, having kept a clean sheet in eight of their last nine La Liga matches.
- Barcelona are undefeated in 16 of their last 17 away matches against Valencia in all competitions.
- Having suffered a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Mallorca last time out, Valencia could endure back-to-back home defeats for the first time since October 2016.
- There have been over 2.5 goals involved in 7 of Valencia’s last 8 La Liga games, while 13 of the last 14 league meetings between these two have seen both teams find the back of the net. So, goals could well be on the cards.
Player to Watch
Robert Lewandowski
The prolific Pole fired a blank in the two Champions League group games against his former side Bayern Munich. But Lewandowski has been far more clinical on the domestic scene, notching up 16 goal contributions in just 11 outings (12 goals, 4 assists). He plundered three goals in his last two La Liga assignments alone and will be keen to get himself back on the scoresheet here.
Prediction
Valencia 1-2 Barcelona
Barcelona cannot afford another poor result in this match. Xavi Hernandez will likely demand a reaction from his side after the harrowing turn of events in recent weeks that have shredded all the optimism of new signings, fresh investment, and improved style of play at the start of the season.
The Catalans have plenty of attacking talent in their ranks and will need to make the most of their potential this weekend. Valencia also have their work cut out for themselves and will need to play their hearts out in front of their home crowd to get any sort of result.
Barcelona are the better team on paper and should be able to win this game. The Blaugrana have only surrendered goals in two of their 11 La Liga matches this season, yet there is compelling evidence that their rearguard will be breached once more in Saturday’s encounter.
While they previously had a solid defence, Xaviโs side have only preserved two clean sheets in their last five games on the road, shipping three goals in the other three games. Valencia will be the fitter of the two sides with no midweek games. So, they may well cause a fair few problems for Barcelona in what is set to be a cracker of a game at the Mestalla.
