SM
Bayern vs. Augsburg: 17 hrs
Upcoming predictions and previews
BL
La Liga
Apr 18, 2015 at 3pm UK
 
VL

2-0

Suarez (1'), Messi (94')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Preview: Barcelona vs. Valencia

:Headline: Preview: Barcelona vs. Valencia: ID:217507: from db_amp
Sports Mole previews the La Liga clash between table-topping Barcelona and Champions League-chasing Valencia at Camp Nou.

One of Barcelona's toughest remaining La Liga assignments arrives on Saturday as Valencia visit Camp Nou.

Barca passed their Paris Saint-Germain test with flying colours in midweek and now will hope to keep Real Madrid at bay at the top of the Spanish top flight.



Barcelona

The Catalan giants made history in 2009 when they became the first Spanish team ever to win the La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League treble. History might just repeat itself this season.

Barca are already into May's Copa showdown with Athletic Bilbao, are two points clear at the league summit and made themselves Champions League favourites with their victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.

During a set of quarter-finals in which fellow heavyweights Real and Bayern Munich stuttered, Luis Suarez scored twice as the Blaugrana won 3-1 at Parc des Princes to open up a commanding lead ahead of next week's return leg.

The former Liverpool forward made a pedestrian start to his Barca career, scoring five times in his first 18 appearances upon the conclusion of his FIFA suspension, but he has found the net 13 times in his last 15 games.

It is the importance of his goals that is as significant as the number. Suarez scored a double at Manchester City and then twice more in Paris, either side of bagging the match-winner in last month's pivotal El Clasico.

That result gave Barca a four-point cushion which was halved by Real following the 2-2 draw with Sevilla last weekend, in which Luis Enrique's side led through Lionel Messi and Neymar goals before conceding their advantage.

They dusted those cobwebs off in France and will be hoping to extend their unbeaten domestic run to eight matches when fourth-placed Valencia, one of only three top-half teams left on Barca's La Liga fixture list, come to visit.

Recent form: WWWWWD
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWDW



Valencia

Forget Barcelona's seven-match unbeaten run in La Liga, or Atletico Madrid's eight games without defeat. Valencia are the form team in Spain, having won seven and drawn three of their last 10 outings.

Nuno Espirito Santo's side have managed to catch up with Atletico and are now applying pressure on the defending champions for third spot, just one point behind with seven games of the season left.

However, Sevilla too remain in the running for a top-four finish and so Los Che must strive to maintain their form until the season's end in order to ensure that a much-improved campaign gets its just rewards.

Monday's 3-0 victory over Levante was ideal preparation ahead of their trip to Catalonia. Paco Alcacer, Sofiane Feghouli and Man City loanee Alvaro Negredo were all on the scoresheet during a comfortable night's work.

It was a 13th home triumph of the season for Valencia - putting them level with all of Spain's other big boys. However, their six away wins is a poorer return than their rivals and they have only beaten one top-half team on the road this term.

Recent form: DWWDDW



Team News

Barca have doubts over the fitness of Andres Iniesta after he was stretchered off against PSG with a sore back. Xavi was his replacement off the bench and could feature against Valencia for the last time ahead of a likely summer exit.

Dani Alves is back from a European suspension and should usurp Martin Montoya at right-back despite huge uncertainty over his own future. Claudio Bravo will regain the gloves from Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Neymar, Messi and Suarez should all start.

The return of Nicholas Otamendi from a ban gives Valencia a huge boost ahead of their clash with the world's most formidable attack, who will provide the reported Manchester United target with a monumental test of his world-class credentials.

The visitors do remain without a couple of their key players, though, with striker Pablo Piatti and highly-rated young left-back Jose Luis Gaya both sidelined by hamstring strains and January signing Enzo Perez still out.

Negredo, who has a poor career record against Barcelona, having scored just once in seven games against them while at Sevilla, may have to settle for the bench as Perez's former Benfica teammate Rodrigo partners Paco Alcacer up front.

Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Bravo; Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Busquets, Xavi, Rakitic; Neymar, Suarez, Messi

Valencia possible starting lineup:
Diego Alves; Cancelo, Mustafi, Otamendi, Vezo; Feghouli, Parejo, Fuego, Andre Gomes; Alcacer, Rodrigo



Head To Head

Enrique's men needed a stoppage-time Sergio Busquets winner at the Mestalla to prevail 1-0 in November's reverse fixture.

Valencia were victorious on their last trip to Camp Nou as Alcacer bagged the decisive strike of a five-goal thriller last season.

However, that was Los Che's first win at Barcelona in 11 attempts and the Catalonians boasted a 28-6 aggregate record during that run.


We say: Barcelona 2-1 Valencia

Valencia are in the type of form that could pose Barca plenty of problems, but their away record against La Liga's elite is not promising. All three of the home side's star strikers are sparkling and they may just have too much firepower for Nuno's side. Expect a great game either way.



amp_article__217507 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2015-04-17 11:41:59:
html db last update - 2015-04-17 11:41:59 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Read more!
Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona13110240122833
2Real Madrid1283125111427
3Atletico MadridAtletico137511971226
4Villarreal127322319424
5Osasuna136341720-321
6Athletic Bilbao135531913620
7Real BetisBetis135531412220
8Real Sociedad135351110118
9Mallorca135351010018
10GironaGirona135351617-118
11Celta Vigo135262022-217
12Rayo Vallecano124441313016
13Sevilla134361218-615
14Leganes133551316-314
15AlavesAlaves134181422-813
16Las PalmasLas Palmas133371622-612
17Getafe13175811-310
18Espanyol123181122-1110
19Real ValladolidValladolid132381025-159
20Valencia11146817-97
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .